Wright stuff for Mannus
ALAN MANNUS insists Tommy Wright deserves all the credit for turning St Johnstone into a force to be reckoned with on the road in Europe.
Saints remained unbeaten on the Continent under Wright after claiming a 1-1 draw against Luzern.
According to Mannus, the Perth side’s increasingly savvy European displays are primarily down to the tactical awareness of their gaffer.
And he believes that the precious away goal Wright’s tactics got them has set Saints up to shock their Swiss opponents at McDiarmid Park on Thursday.
He said: “The way we’ve played away from home in Europe is down to the manager and coaches more than anything.
“The players have jobs to do on the pitch, but it starts from the manager and coaches setting a game plan and telling us what they want us to do.
“It all starts from them and that’s the reason we got the result the other night.
“It’s huge to have the away goal because we’re in with a good chance now and that’s what we set out to do.
“It’s on us now to do the job at home – and if we perform the way we can, I don’t see why we can’t get it done.”
In the aftermath of the first leg, during which Saints were under the cosh for long periods, Tommy Wright insisted his side’s love for defending had seen them through.
Mannus agrees, but he also hailed the Perth side’s attacking players for mucking in against Luzern.
“It was a good all-round defensive performance,” he said.
“The defenders and myself obviously play a part, but then the midfielders and the strikers defended from the front.
“We had a game plan which paid off because we’ve got the result.”