Saints relish race for third – Mannus

Saints keeper Alan Mannus aiming to catch Rangers

Alan Mannus is looking for a long shot to put in a strong finish today but it won’t be in the Grand National – instead it is in the race for third in the Premiership between his side St Johnstone and Rangers.

The Northern Irish keeper confessed he was surprised when he realised that Saints had “crept up on the rails” just behind the big-budget Glasgow side.

However, following Wednesday night’s win over Hearts at McDiarmid, Tommy Wright’s men now sit just six points off the Ibrox men.

Mannus, who kept a clean sheet against a fairly toothless Jambos, acknowledged the Ibrox side are still firm favourites to finish third, but St Johnstone have an outside chance of catching them, starting today in Inverness.

The 34-year-old said: “I was surprised by how little I had to do against Hearts.

“I expected to be a bit busier with what was at stake.

“They were a couple of points behind us so the pressure was on them to come at us to get the win.

“But we defended brilliantly, just like the lads did down to nine men at Hamilton on Saturday.

“You could see what it meant to us,” he added.

“It was a huge result for us. It’s obviously better to be in our position than theirs because they have to chase us now.

“There are still a lot of points to be played for but I’m sure they’d rather be in our position.

“Now we need to keep picking up the points and have another good run-in to the end of the season.

“I hadn’t looked at the table for a while and I didn’t realise we were getting close to Rangers.

“It shows you how well the team has done.

“We are in there competing with Rangers and at the start of the season you’d have thought Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers would have been well clear of the rest, all guaranteed top three places.

“It probably didn’t enter anyone’s head we might be fighting with Rangers for that third place at this stage.

“In saying that, it is still probably a long shot but you never know what might happen and we will be doing our best to put in another strong finish.

“They will still be favourites and we will concentrate on finishing above Hearts.”

One of the defenders ensuring Mannus had a quiet night against the Jambos was on-loan Preston full-back, 19-year-old Clive Smith.

He made his debut for Saints at Hamilton as a sub last Saturday but was handed his first start against Hearts – and the youngster’s performance earned praise from the keeper.

Mannus added: “Clive has been very impressive.

“It was some game for him to make his debut in at Hamilton and he was excellent again against Hearts.

“He looked like he had been playing all season.

“You don’t even think of him as a young lad. He was very steady.

“The manager keeps saying how important it is to have a good squad and that showed against Hearts with so many out through injury or suspension. We were down to the bare bones but got the result we needed.”

Mannus admits this season has been a frustrating one for him having to play second fiddle for long periods to Zander Clark.

However, since being recalled last month against Motherwell he has made the jersey his own again and he is not looking to give it up again any time soon.

Mannus said: “I am enjoying being back in the team. I was happy enough how it went against Motherwell when I came on.

“I felt I contributed in that game and it would be great to play again at Inverness.

“It has been a frustrating season for me but it is part of football being in and out of a team.

“I have just tried to get on with it. I have always worked hard in training to make sure I’m ready when my chance came along.

“This is my job and I go about it professionally, just as I would if I was working on a company project outside football and someone got a higher position.

“You might not be happy but you don’t just throw in the towel. You get on with it and do what you need to do.

“It was good still being listed in the international squad with not playing regularly here. I feel I have done well when I’m away with the squad. I still want to be involved.

“Of course I want to play against Inverness but there are no guarantees. It doesn’t work like that. If I play I will make the most of it but I have no expectations.

“My last full game before this week was at Inverness.

“I was ill after an international break and Zander came in, took his chance and stayed in.

“We know it isn’t easy up there. We lost up there and they were the better team that day.

“You look at the table and you might say we are favourites but playing them late in the season means it will be even tougher.

“They are in a relegation fight and there are fewer games left for them to take points and get out of their current trouble.

“But if we play like we did against Hearts we can go there and give ourselves a good chance of winning.”

Picture: PPA. St Johnstone goalkeeper Alan Mannus in training yesterday.