SOLID FOUNDATIONS ARE CRUCIAL FOR WOTHERSPOON AS SAINTS CLIMB TO SAFETY

DAVID WOTHERSPOON insists that St Johnstone are heading in the right direction now they have sorted out their defensive woes. Saints have recorded three clean sheets in a row to climb four points clear of bottom side Hearts and Wotherspoon is confident the only way is up now for Tommy Wright’s side. ‘We were making silly mistakes earlier in the season but the last three games have been pretty good,’ said the Canadian international (left). ‘Now that we’re getting clean sheets, it gives the guys in midfield and up front more confidence to try and win the game. Saturday’s 0-0 draw against St Mirren was an example of: “If you’re not winning, make sure you don’t lose it”. ‘We had clear-cut chances to score but we’ll take our point and move on to the next match. ‘Since I’ve been here, the main focus has been on keeping clean sheets. Playing as a team has been the key to that. ‘This team has taken some time to gel but you can see that we’re getting there and we’re becoming more consistent.’ Wotherspoon knows the next two games against Hamilton and Ross County will be crucial in shaping the rest of Saints’ season. ‘We’ve got two massive games coming up,’ he admitted. Perennial relegation battlers Accies might be second bottom but, after a 2-1 win consigned Hearts to the basement last weekend, they have Saints in their sights. ‘Hamilton is always a tough place to go but we know we’re capable of winning there,’ insisted Wotherspoon. ‘We played well against them at McDiarmid earlier in the season. It was our first league win. ‘I got a couple of goals and Callum

Hendry came off the bench to score the winner. Since then, we’ve had a couple of bumps in the road but there has been some decent form as well.’ Wotherspoon knows Accies have been over the course before. But he believes the Perth dressing room can handle the pressure. ‘We’ve got big players who can perform in games like these,’ he said. ‘We know what Hamilton are about but we also know what we need to do to beat them — dig deep and outplay them.’ Wotherspoon pointed out that things can change quickly in this cut-throat Premiership. ‘Hibs were down with us recently but quickly moved up the table after a few good results,’ he said. ‘That’s what we want to do.’ After their success against Hearts, Hamilton striker Steve Davies is eager for Accies to pick up the winning habit to boost their survival chances. Accies have not claimed back-to-back victories since March 2018 but that is the target for Brian Rice’s side as they bid to move further away from trouble. The 31-year-old said: ‘Why is it so tough to win back-to-back?

Probably because you usually get one of Rangers or Celtic as soon as you pick three points up. Actually I’m not sure why it’s been such a hard task for us. ‘I’ve only been here for 12 months but we haven’t managed it yet. ‘It’s something we’re conscious of and it was the first thing the manager said to us after the Hearts game. ‘In football, you’ve got to strive to make little records and, if we haven’t won two games in a row, for a while then that is something we want to do. ‘We went a long time without winning and yet we were still in touching distance of the teams around us. ‘The name of the game is to just keep ourselves in reach of the other teams until the split and then, when we get games at home, we know we can give teams problems.’ Davies has only found the net four times since moving north last January but his goal on the final day of last season against Saints proved golden to Accies as it saved them from the relegation play-off. However, he admits he got a helping hand from team-mate Brian Easton, who was in the opposition ranks that day in May. ‘I’ve got happy memories of Easty,’ he joked. ‘I’m glad he played. I think he knew he was coming back because he set me up for my goal. ‘St Johnstone are a team that’s close to us and we’ve got to be thinking about taking the three points on Thursday. ‘The result on Saturday makes it very easy. We’ve closed the gap on the teams above us and we just need to hang in there, take points when we can and hopefully — like last season — it turns out to be enough.’