Bell sings praises of ‘fantastic’ defence

SAINTS: Debut keeper impressed with Perth back line after clean sheet at Ibrox

St Johnstone keeper Cammy Bell has paid tribute to his outfield team-mates for giving him one of the “quieter days” he has known at his old ground.

Making his debut in place of the injured Zander Clark, the experienced former Rangers goalie showed why Tommy Wright brought him to McDiarmid Park last month.

But Bell shared the praise for his clean sheet. “The lads were fantastic in front of me,” said the ex-Dundee United and Kilmarnock man after the 0-0 weekend draw.

“It’s one of the quieter days I’ve had at Ibrox. All credit goes to the defence and midfielders. And Kano gave us a great out ball up front.

“It was a great performance and we should have won the game because we had the better chances.

“Zander got injured yesterday and this is why the gaffer brought me to the club. He knew that I could handle occasions like this.

“The back four stopped me having too much to do. I felt secure the whole game and it felt like I’d played with them before.

“Hopefully we can continue that as long as I’m in the team.”

The draw ended a run of five defeats – albeit three were against Celtic – and Saints are now targeting a victory on Saturday.

“After the run of tough games we’re delighted to get a point and hopefully we can now get three points against Aberdeen,” said Bell.

Wright, who confirmed that Clark’s injured hamstring will be scanned today, admitted “it doesn’t look great”.

He added: “We signed Cammy because we felt we needed experience if something happened to Zander – for situations like this.

“He was a calming influence.”

See pages 52 and 53