The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Plenty positives from cup opener – Wright
Saints boss rues lack of killer touch – but is confident Perth side will become better
Tommy Wright is confident his Perth players will sharpen up before the league campaign gets under way next month.
The St Johnstone boss watched his side shut-out by League One opponents East Fife in their Betfred Cup opener.
Saints relied on a spot-kick shoot-out win to bag a bonus point and they head to Montrose on Saturday, with the Links Park side topping the group after a shock 1-0 away win over Falkirk.
“I have watched the game back and was happy with how we tried to play but obviously I’m still disappointed that we didn’t take our chances,” said Wright.
“East Fife packed the middle of the pitch and even though we managed to overload the wide areas we didn’t capitalise on the openings we made.
“The lack of a killer cross or killer pass hurt us in the end.
“We will improve from here. There were plenty of positives to take.”
Former Colchester United winger Drey Wright caught the eye and struck home the decisive penalty, with ex-Celtic striker Tony Watt making an impression from the bench.
“Drey looked very good and you could see that Tony is a quality player from the 30 minutes or so he played,” said
Wright.
“There is a lot of work still to do to get to where we want to be but Saturday’s game will be another step in the right direction.”
Wright is keen to add to his squad, with Manchester United midfielder Matty Willock being monitored to see if the Old Trafford club are ready to farm him out on loan again.
“I have identified the players we want to bring in, we are still working on things,” stressed the Perth manager.
“We need to fill a couple of key positions and it’s with the club at the moment. I’ve no doubt we will get players in.”
Wright revealed that injured left-back Brian Easton is hoping to see a specialist this week after suffering a setback in his rehab following two groin operations last season.
“It has settled down quite a bit, so things are looking slightly more positive,” said Wright.
“The issue is that we can’t get him to a level of work we need to get him to.
“Most people are back in six weeks but he’s nine or 10 weeks on from the last operation, so it has been a concern.
“It’s looking a bit more positive but we will have to wait and see what the specialist says.”
Skipper Joe Shaughnessy will again miss out this weekend as a leg wound heals, along with young striker Greg Hurst, who was hurt in the Chris Millar testimonial game with Aberdeen.
Wright added: “Chris Kane took a knock on his achilles against East Fife so we will have to monitor him.”
“You could see that Tony Watt is a quality player from the 30 minutes or so he played. TOMMY WRIGHT