WRIGHT SICK OF ‘STREETWISE’ SAINTS ANALYSIS
ST JOHNSTONE boss Tommy Wright says he is getting increasingly fed up with critics overlooking the quality in his side. Kris Boyd was the latest to describe Saints as ‘streetwise’ and adept at handling the ‘dirty things in football’ after his Kilmarnock side lost 2-1 to the Perth outfit in their Premiership opener at Rugby Park. The veteran striker claimed Killie have much to learn from Saints’ approach, saying they stopped Lee McCulloch’s men from playing by both fair means and foul at times. But Wright says that analysis ignores the fact the visitors scored a good goal from David Wotherspoon on Saturday and a superb lastminute winner from Michael O’Halloran after the on-loan Ranger embarked on a mazy run. Ahead of tonight’s Betfred Cup last-16 tie against Partick Thistle at McDiarmid Park, Wright has been irked by the fall-out from the Killie game and the perception of his side. He said: ‘Being St Johnstone, they seem to be concentrating more on how poor the defending was instead of looking at how great the O’Halloran goal was. ‘Maybe if it was a different colour of shirt there would be more made of it. It is a great goal. You can look at the defending all day long, but to score that goal on that surface, which isn’t a great surface, was incredible. ‘The David Wotherspoon goal was another good goal, but, again, there seemed to be a lot of concentration on how poorly it was defended and not looking at the positives. ‘It is the same old story again. We don’t get the credit. Apparently, we bought fouls and made the most fouls in the game, and that’s how we won. People rabbit on and they say things — but we deserved to win. ‘There is a tendency to label us in a certain way. For 60 minutes, we were very good with the ball. ‘We don’t buy fouls. But it is the same old. We win it because we are streetwise and not because we played well.’ Partick Thistle — who finished in the top six with Saints last season — will be looking to hit back from Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Hibs. Wright said: ‘They had a great season last time and this is a big one for them. ‘We know how difficult it is to replicate the top six. Alan Archibald has done a great job. We played them five or six times last season. ‘We know each other well, so it is going to be a tough game.’