Steve Lomas didn’t live in fear of the sack when St Johnstone were sitting bottom of the SPL, and he doesn’t expect to be head-hunted now that they are second top.
It’s no surprise that the Perth boss is starting to be linked with English Championship jobs given the fact that he took Saints into Europe last season and has now guided them to a club record-equalling five top-flight league wins in a row.
It’s been reported that Burnley, who lured Owen Coyle south a few years ago and were interested in Derek McInnes at one time, have got Lomas on their list of possible replacements for Eddie Howe.
If that’s the case, the Northern Irishman isn’t letting it affect his aim of making it win number six on the bounce for Saints at Inverness on Saturday.
He said: ”It’s flattering but I didn’t take any notice of speculation a few weeks ago when people were saying I was under pressure. So I won’t be taking any notice now. If I am on any lists I’ll be one of about 80 because jobs are hard to come by.
”What I would say, though, is that it shows the players are doing something right. When there’s speculation like that it reflects well on them as a group.”
Lomas is an admirer of the team Terry Butcher has assembled, and he was impressed with what he saw at Dens.
If they are going to go into the McDiarmid Park history books by surpassing Willie Ormond’s team of the early 70s, they will have to do it the hard way.
He said: ”We have a big game against Inverness and we want to break the record for the supporters. But it’s going to be tough up there it always is.
”I watched them against Dundee last week and they’re a really good side. Terry has brought a lot of new players to Inverness and has added a lot of quality.
”Andrew Shinnie is in great form for them and they have power in the middle of the park with the likes of Ross Draper and Owain Tudur-Jones.
”They blew Dundee away in the first few minutes and have scored a lot of goals already this season.
”Apart from last weekend against Killie we have not started well in some of our games so that’s something we have to be mindful of.
”We have to show the same mentality as we did last Saturday. If we’re not on our game we’ll get beaten, it’s as simple as that.
”I want us to be confident without being complacent but I’d like to think the lads have a taste of winning now. I can’t praise them enough for the run they have been on.”
Lomas added: ”I don’t think anyone would have expected St Johnstone playing Inverness would be match of the day in the SPL at this stage. That just shows how well both teams have performed in the last couple of months.
Peter Pawlett is unavailable, while Paddy Cregg is also out. Callum Davidson and David McCracken have returned to training however.