St Johnstone stand-in manager Callum Davidson has hailed the Perth club’s top-six stars, even if their success has gone relatively unnoticed across the country.
Davidson, who will be in charge for a second game running against St Mirren tonight as boss Tommy Wright continues his recuperation from gall bladder surgery, believes Saints deserve greater recognition than they’ve received for being a top half of the table team for three seasons on the trot.
He said: “I think for a club like St Johnstone to get there three years in a row is a huge achievement and maybe we’re not getting as much credit as we deserve.
“It is a remarkable feat given the size of club we are.
“People maybe just expect it now. But within the club we know what an achievement this is to get into the top six with the likes of Celtic, a resurgent Aberdeen, Motherwell and Dundee United.
“We are proud of our achievements.”
The biggest game left for Saints this season is next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen, but Davidson believes it is important they go into the April 13 tie in good form.
There will be no taking their foot off the gas in Paisley.
He said: “Looking at the three games left before the split, they are tough but winnable and the aim is to put pressure on Inverness, who are seven points ahead of us right now.
“If we can win two or even three out of three, we can do just that. That is our aim.”
Davidson added: “We can’t just think it’s all about the semi-final now. We don’t want the season to peter out.
“We want to win as many games as we can and go into the semi-final with confidence.
“If we come off it, that would make it hard to get back up for the games ahead.
“We want to have a winning mentality. We have to maintain the fight and desire to get a result.”
Team and tactics have been talked through at Perth Royal Infirmary with Wright already, Davidson added.
“Tommy, myself and Alec (Cleland) talked over the potential team for the St Mirren game in the hospital ward on Sunday,” he said.
“The hardest challenge we faced was dealing with Tommy’s computer software!
“I think he was a bit bored and glad of the conversation.
“Tommy probably got a wee bit team advice from patients after we had left! We know roughly what the team will be depending on any knocks and niggles being reported.”