SAINTS ARE BLUEPRINT FOR US TO FOLLOW, SAYS JIM
JI M McINTYRE bel ie v e s St Johnstone offer a blueprint for what he would like to achieve at Ross County within the next few seasons.
The Dingwall club’s manager holds his Perth counterparts in high regard, given the consistently-impressive f i nishes they have achieved in Scotland’s top flight on modest means.
County travel south to McDiarmid Park tonight on the back of a strong home victory over Hamilton, with McIntyre wary of reading too much into St Johnstone’s comparatively poor start to the campaign following their 4-3 defeat to Hearts and a 1-1 draw with Inverness.
McIntyre, who has a fully-fit squad to pick from, said: ‘Billy Dodds and I both went down to see St Johnstone against Hearts.
‘They are a threat, as they showed by scoring three goals away from home in that defeat.
‘Tommy Wright was disappointed with the goals his team conceded, and rightly so, but they showed plenty of spirit to bounce back after being 3-1 down. They’ve got good players and have been, for me , a steady side for years n o w. That’s exactly what we want to become. We want to be known for being a seven out of 10 team, j ust as they are.
‘ They have got experience right through the side and have Murray Davidson back after some bad injuries. He’s been very unlucky and it’s good to see him back playing.’
Meanwhile, Graham Cummins has staked a claim for his first Saints start this evening after twice scoring from the bench — including Saturday’s late equaliser against Caley Thistle — since moving from Exeter.
Boss Wright, who will still be without recuperating duo Dave Mackay and Chris Millar, said: ‘Graham is knocking on the door. He has done well in pre-season and it’s good that we have competition for places.
‘Graham and John Sutton have put themselves in a good position with their goals. I have liked Graham’s movement. I knew about him for a while — he had a great goalscoring record at Cork and he will score goals here.
‘Ultimately, strikers are judged on goals and to score two from the bench has really caught the eye. But Graham’s general all-round play and movement in training indicates he will score goals in this league.’
Cummins arrived in Perth as a r eplacement f or striker Brian Graham, who was on l oan from Dundee United l ast season but decided his future lay with tonight’s opponents Ross County. He could yet return to haunt Saints.
‘County had an offer in before us and we just couldn’t match it,’ said Wright. ‘Good luck to him. There was no fall- out. We just couldn’t match what they offered and Brian went there.’
Ross County goalkeeper Scot Fox, who saved an early Ali Crawford penalty in the win against Hamilton on Saturday, is expected to play tonight despite having to be replaced in the second half through illness.