The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Kane has Celtic in his sights as he aims to catch boss Wright’s eye
Gaffer Wright believes continuity of selection could be key to better results
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright is hoping continuity of selection will help the Perth side regain their prebreak momentum.
Saints have struggled to click as an attacking force since their best performance of the season at Dens Park that ended 2017 on a high.
And Wright has identified a potential solution.
“We’ve got to find a way to get our momentum in attack back,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup fifth round clash with Celtic.
“Maybe it’s a case of me picking a team and sticking with it for three or four weeks.
“It’s something we’ve discussed as a staff. Even though we started well against Hamilton and Livingston, it is fair to say we haven’t been as fluent in our play as we were before the break.
“On Wednesday night we were actually good until the final third, when everything got too slow.
“It’s almost as if we were trying to walk the ball into the net and hope that something would happen, rather than make it happen.”
Wright added: “You change things to try to help.
“We’ve had a lot of midweek games and we’ve just come back from the break so you do change more at this stage of the season than you normally would anyway.
“You’re trying to get players up to speed – (Danny) Swanson hasn’t played much football and neither has (Michael) O’Halloran.
“Like I said, barring injury, there’s a strong case to stick with the same 11.”
O’Halloran has had a tight hamstring post-Hamilton but “should be OK”, according to Wright, while Murray Davidson returns to the squad after being rested.
Brian Easton is scheduled to play for the reserves on Monday.
On the challenge that faces Saints at Celtic Park tomorrow, Wright said: “We know it’s going to be difficult. It’s the hardest tie you can get. They’re the champions, the cup holders and the favourites to win it again.
“They’ve had so many clean sheets after the break.
“But we know we’re capable of causing an upset and we have to believe in that.”
One player who enhanced his chances of starting tomorrow with his performance against Hamilton was second-half substitute Chris Kane.
“Hopefully I have done enough to give the manager something to think about because I would love to get a start against Celtic,” said the striker.
“I can’t remember ever starting a game at their place and these are the sort of games you want to be playing in.
“It is a big stage – and being a Scottish Cup tie makes it even more special.
“I knew I wouldn’t be starting every game when I saw the boys who were coming in at the start of the season.
“We have some talent up front and obviously Mikey came in over the break as well.
“I knew it was going to make it more difficult to get a game but I couldn’t let that bother me.
“I have only had three starts this season so far but I’m not complaining. I have come off the bench in pretty much every game when I have been fit.
“Hopefully I have something a bit different to offer.”
Kane added: “I am still learning but just being involved in squads shows the
gaffer still has faith in me and I have another year on my contract to make an impression.
“I have just worked my socks off in training and waited for my chance to come along because we all know the manager has loads of options now.
“A calf injury set me back a bit but it feels good now and I am 100%.”
One of Kane’s career highlights came in the Scottish Cup – a hat-trick against Albion Rovers.
He said: “I have still got the match ball from that game last year in my room. Getting a hat-trick in the cup was special.
“It might be a little bit harder to do the same against Celtic but if I get my chance I’ll try my best to take it.
“We have played well in the last two games against them. We have to stay in the game and battle away as long as we can. But this time we have to put away any chances that come along.
“We know it’s crucial we make the most of any opportunities if we are going to pull off a shock in the cup.”
Brendan Rodgers meanwhile is targeting a historic third successive William Hill Scottish Cup triumph.
The Northern Irishman has not lost a domestic cup tie since he took over as Hoops boss in 2016 and is aiming for an unprecedented third successive treble.
To do that, he would need to make it three Scottish Cup final wins in a row for the first time in the club’s history.
“It is a big ambition because I’m here to win and win as many trophies as I possibly can,” said Rodgers, who has Olivier Ntcham, James Forrest and Odsonne Edouard back training again after injury and Kristoffer Ajer back from suspension.
“There have been two great (final) days for us when we have been here for different reasons and we want to get into the next round to put ourselves into the hat to have that opportunity to win it again. But we will have to earn it at the weekend.
“It is a great tribute to the players. We have tried to teach them not to be relaxed.”
The Hoops are in fine form, having won all six games since the turn of the year, scoring 16 goals with none conceded.
He said: “We have played St Johnstone four times this season, it is only human that you can maybe be blase going into these games having won the games and played well in them.
“We have always tried to train the players with the attitude that every game is different, you have to respect every game. We work very hard on excellence in our work and that is not easy.”
“Anyone who has been in my position will tell you with respect of how difficult it is, when you are playing well and winning games, how to sustain that.
“But the beauty of these players is that they are very focused, the culture we have is based around that, no matter how we are doing that we can always improve.
“That is the mentality we take into this game and our objective is to get through.”