St Johnstone will be minus Steven MacLean for next week’s league game against Dundee United but boss Tommy Wright has revealed the returning striker would probably have missed out anyway.
MacLean only recently made his long-awaited comeback following knee surgery and scored twice in his first outing of 2014 against Motherwell, although his second match back did not end quite as well at the weekend.
Two bookings for the second half substitute saw him sent off in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen and will rule him out of the trip to Tannadice a week on Wednesday.
However, given the fact that the 31-year-old has been out for most of the season up to now, Wright told The Courier his striker is unlikely to have figured too much in his plans in any case.
“It is a blow to lose Stevie through suspension but given that he is coming back from a four-month absence he probably wouldn’t have started at Tannadice,” he said.
“He isn’t ready for Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday games. The first game back after a long-term injury is usually the easiest because adrenaline gets you through it. But there was really no decision to be made on Stevie starting in Aberdeen.
“We talked it over with the medical team and Stevie himself and if we had been one goal up he probably wouldn’t have come off the bench.
“People have to realise he’s been out for four months, and actually the first game is probably the easiest game because of your adrenaline and you are so keen to get back.
“He has to be managed carefully and we’ll get enough games out of him between now and the end of the season.”
Despite the weekend’s red card, MacLean will be available for selection for this Saturday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Raith Rovers if required.
But the fact he will have to serve a league suspension is a punishment which still rankles with Wright.
He explaned: “Having seen the second booking again on TV, I am more convinced than ever it wasn’t warranted. The fourth official said it was reckless but that wasn’t a reckless challenge.
“It was just mistimed. I think if referee Willie Collum had paused, he could have settled for a ticking off.”
Looking back on the outcome, Wright felt his side deserved more from their weekend trip to Pittodrie and is certainly drawing on the positives.
“I certainly can’t fault my players for their performance,” he continued.
“Not many teams will go to Pittodrie and control and dominate as we did, especially in the second half.
“We should have dealt with the threat for their goal better but it boiled down to Alan Mannus losing his footing at the crucial moment.
“It was a touch of misfortune. If he doesn’t slip, he would have saved the shot comfortably because there was no great pace on it. So we’ve been punished for an unfortunate incident but the players responded very well.
“They could have crumbled against a strong team like Aberdeen but we were very positive and took the game to them.
“That is two very good performances in a row against Motherwell and the Dons which we have to take into the cup tie against Raith Rovers and the next few weeks.”
Saints have yet to record a victory over Aberdeen so far this season after four attempts, but Wright hopes Saturday’s latest loss at Pittodrie will not prove to be the last time they cross swords with the Dons this term.
“Speaking to Derek McInnes after the game, I said hope we get a chance to play them again at least once this season because that would mean we are in the top six and advancing in the cup,” he concluded.
“They have been a bit of a bogey team for us this year and we haven’t scored against them in four games.
“They have won three of the four games but I do think we haven’t carried much in the way of good fortune against them and we want the chance to put things right.
“They have punished us when we’ve made mistakes and they have made very few mistakes.”