Wright plan is to re-sign at Saints

Tommy Wright insists that St Johnstone will build from a position of strength in January – but he’s more interested in keeping what he has.

The Saints boss predicts a couple in and a couple out when the window opens after talks with chairman Steve Brown.

He said: “In the January window I like to get players re-signed. I know you can do that at any time, but coming up to January there’s more focus on it.

“You want to get players who are out of contract re-signed, extend players who you feel need it, then also try and tweak it a wee bit to give yourself an edge going into a vital part of the season.

“We’ve already started negotiations with three or four of them – the likes of Joe Shaughnessy, Blair Alston, David Wotherspoon and Richard Foster – and we’ve got players we’d like to extend as well.

“You know clubs will be watching our players and that sharpens your thinking, so we’ll be hoping to extend the likes of Zander Clark and Jason Kerr’s contracts as well.”

However, even if there is firm interest in his prize assets, the McDiarmid Park gaffer insists he’s not under pressure to take the money and run.

The Northern Irishman (below) shrugged: “If there are bids, that’s part and parcel of it and we’ll deal with it.

“You could put us in the class of being a selling club but I wouldn’t put us in the class of being desperate to sell, like some other clubs.

“Because of how the chairman has run the club, financially we’re sound.

“So it wouldn’t be a case of having to take the first bid that comes along for one of my players because we have to plug a hole. “It would take extremely big offers to get the likes of Zander or Jason.

“There have been one or two enquiries but you soon suss them out in terms of: ‘Well, make an offer,’ and the offer doesn’t come. “I think the chairman knows what he’s doing and if bids do come in for our players, he knows their value.”