Wright reckons current crop can be his finest yet
ST JOHNSTONE manager Tommy Wright believes his current squad have the potential to be his best group of players in Perth yet.
The McDiarmid Park club are undefeated in their last eight, keeping clean sheets in seven of those fixtures, and are fifth in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Saints have finished in the top half of the table in four of the last five seasons and won the Scottish Cup in 2014. On Friday, Wright signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2022, just days after collecting the Ladbrokes Manager of the Month award for November.
‘It’s early stages and they are still growing as a group but what I can see is that they have that togetherness as a team, which is important,’ said Wright, following their victory over Aberdeen.
‘They have a way to go to beat the Scottish Cup-winning side and maybe a bit of silverware but perhaps we can get top six this year.
‘That would be a great achievement as, for once, I agree with the experts that there is only one place available in the top six this season because of the strength in depth of the big five clubs.’
Derek McInnes criticised the impact of Stevie May and Scott Wright yesterday, his only two changes from the midweek victory over Rangers.
He said: ‘I just think we looked like a tired team after the exertions of the last two games. It was clear we needed more intensity in the game, more creativity, more speed. It wasn’t there.
‘I can’t be too critical of my players. I think I can be looking for more from the ones who came in.
‘But certainly the ones who have had to play with 10 men at Ibrox for long spells, who have had to play in the cup final, with everything that takes out of you when you’re playing against the better sides, I can’t be too critical of them.
‘We’re just looking for that bit more consistency. This is the third game in six days and we had to make sure we got up to it. But I think we missed some key players and the creativity and inspiration that everybody looks for at home.
‘Once St Johnstone got their noses in front, we huffed and puffed and were devoid of any real ideas or intensity to get back into the game.’