Davidson hopes empty stadium can give his Saints an edge

ST JOHNSTONE will not have the intimidating Ibrox roar to contend with during tonight’s behind-closed-doors Premiership match against Rangers. Manager Callum Davidson knows his side will, however, still have to be at their very best if they are to silence Steven Gerrard’s on-form side in Govan. Davidson has been hugely impressed by the Glasgow giant’s start to the season with a 1-0 win at Pittodrie followed up by a 3-0 home victory over St Mirren. He knows his Perth players will face an attacking onslaught this evening and called on them to stand up and be counted amid an unusually ghostly atmosphere. ‘It will be strange having no crowd at Ibrox because, as a player, I really enjoyed it there,’ nodded Davidson. ‘We will find out exactly what it’s like on Wednesday and it will be interesting to see if it affects the game. ‘But when you go to Ibrox or Celtic Park you need all your players to play well, especially when the opposition are full of confidence after two wins. ‘Rangers have been really good this season. I saw them against St Mirren and I thought they were very good against Aberdeen too. They are playing well, they move the ball quickly and they will make a lot of runs forward. ‘But hopefully we can put in a really good performance and see where it takes us. We have two away games coming up against Rangers and Kilmarnock then we have a couple of home games against Aberdeen and Hibs. ‘It has been a bit stop-start so far for us but we just want to get a run of games now and build momentum.’ Davidson hopes Scottish football’s Covid-19 rule breaches will prove a wake-up call for the game. The Saints boss spoke with his squad to remind them of their responsibilities after two Aberdeen players caught coronavirus on a night out then Celtic’s Boli Bolingoli played at Kilmarnock on Sunday when he should have been in quarantine after an illicit visit to Spain. Those incidents saw Aberdeen’s trip to McDiarmid Park called off on Saturday, then yesterday the Dons’ fixtures against Hamilton tonight and Celtic in Glasgow this Saturday were postponed, alongside the Parkhead club’s trip to face St Mirren this evening.

With Scottish football issued a final warning by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday, Davidson believes the breaches will act as a reminder that while football is back, the virus remains as dangerous as ever. He said: ‘You have to realise what we are still up against. We need to keep taking precautions like keep washing our hands and wearing face masks.

‘I have since talked to the players again and they realise where we are at.’