Contract talks begin with in-form forward

DEAL: Saints boss believes his team will cope without Brian Graham against United, but he wants him to stay at McDiarmid Park

St Johnstone are set to open talks with Brian Graham in an attempt to keep the in-form striker at McDiarmid Park.

Graham, who has scored four goals in the last six games, is nearing the end of his season-long loan from Dundee United.

The Tangerines have made it clear they won’t be looking to bring the former Raith Rovers man back to Tannadice, so he will be a free agent at the end of this month.

Perth boss Tommy Wright is keen to make Graham a permanent St Johnstone player, and revealed that negotiations with his agent are due to begin before the end of this week.

The Northern Irishman reported: “We’re now in a position to start talking to Brian. Hopefully we’ll get things moving this week.”

Wright won’t be able to select Graham for Saturday’s Tayside derby, which is shaping up to be pivotal in the battle for fourth in the Premiership.

But the Saints manager believes he has other strong options that will help his team gain the win that would take them three points ahead of United.

He said: “Obviously we won’t have Brian available on Saturday, but that’s something we’ve got used to in games against United this season. We’ve just got to deal with it.

“Macca (Steven MacLean) has been playing well. He hasn’t been scoring but his link-up play has been good. Michael (O’Halloran) has been looking a threat and has been unlucky recently. We’ve also got Faddy (James McFadden) and Kano (Chris Kane), so we’re well covered.

“It was more of a problem earlier in the season when we had to play Michael up top against them because Adam Morgan wasn’t playing particularly well. That’s the only time it’s caused us a problem for the United games.”

Wright also feels ex-United favourite Danny Swanson will be an important player for his team at the weekend. “Danny’s started to play well,” he said. “I’m really pleased with him. He’s got his match fitness and is playing regularly. Now you can see his real quality. He’s chipped in with important goals at Celtic and Dundee, which have been massive for us.”

As for bringing Swanson back from Coventry City next season, Wright said: “I plan to speak to Tony Mowbray.

“It seems that his thoughts are to bring Danny back for pre-season but it’s a situation we’ll be keeping an eye on.”

Meanwhile, Joe Thompson was joined by another trialist in a bounce game yesterday.

“We’ll take it from there,” Wright said. “Joe is one of the trialists and the other is a boy we’ve been watching for a while. His season is finished. He’s coming in for a couple of days.”

We’re now in a position to start talking to Brian. Hopefully we’ll get things moving this week. TOMMY WRIGHT

Picture: SNS Group. Brian Graham, who is soon to be out of contract at Dundee United.