Callum Davidson is hoping to make it a hat-trick of new contracts at St Johnstone.
Liam Gordon has agreed a one-year extension to his current deal, with the Perth boss “optimistic” that fellow first team regulars David Wotherspoon and Scott Tanser will soon follow the centre-back’s lead.
“It’s great that we’ve managed to get Liam signed up,” said Davidson.
“We’ve been working hard with Scott Tanser and David Wotherspoon to get contracts agreed.
“I’d like to do more but Covid and this new strain hasn’t helped.
“Hopefully we can agree deals with Scott and David and then crack on with the rest of them.
“I’m quite optimistic.
“David’s one isn’t too far away to get across the line.
“Scott’s is slightly different but hopefully we can get something sorted out there as well.”
There has been recent speculation that the likes of Sunderland and Barnsley are tracking Tanser who, like 11 others at McDiarmid Park, will be out of contract in the summer.
“Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener,” said Davidson. “If you’re playing well, which he is, and you’re enjoying your football, which he is, that’s a huge thing, especially for Scott at his age.
“If there was a good offer for him I obviously wouldn’t stop him going back down the road but there are a lot of things he’ll need to factor into the equation – one of them being he’s playing in a position that he really likes, wing-back.
“I’m hoping we can get him tied up.”
Local lad Gordon grew up a Saints fan but Davidson stressed that there is far more than sentiment keeping the imposing defender, one of his “stand-out performers” over the last few months, in Perth beyond the end of the current campaign.
“Liam’s ambitious,” he said. “It’s not just a case of him being happy to stay because it’s his home town club.
“He’s played a lot of games, he wants to improve and I think he feels that he’s done that season.
“I’ve made him captain when Liam (Craig) and Jason (Kerr) have been out so he knows what I think of him.
“We’ll make sure he keeps progressing and improving.
“He’s mentally strong and has become a leader in the team. We’ve got two or three of those now in the dressing room and on the pitch, which we need.
“For me, he’s been one of the stand-out performers this season.”
Meanwhile, Davidson admitted he was shocked that Saints’ weekend clash with Dundee United had to be postponed until Tuesday evening (6.30pm kick-off) as a result of a frozen pitch.
“We’re obviously really disappointed,” he said. “We were desperate to play the game.
“By all accounts the pitch was terrible and there was no way the game was going to be on. It was rock solid.
“It would have been better if it had just been called off earlier and we could have moved it to Sunday.
“We wanted it played as early as possible. With no fans, it’s easier to rearrange games when they are called off.
“It will be on Tuesday night and we’ll look forward to that now. Hopefully there will be enough of a thaw between now and then for the frozen bits to improve.
“We got a good training session in, which was the only positive. The boys worked really hard and everybody came through it well.”
Saints have called for an SPFL inquiry into the call-off in light of the fact that there is undersoil heating at Tannadice.
A statement read: “We are disappointed the game was called off just over 90 minutes from kick-off.
“With Dundee United having undersoil heating, we fully expected the fixture to go ahead. We did not expect this.
“We now fully expect the SPFL to look into why the game could not be played and why it was such a late call off.
“Callum (Davidson) and the players prepared for this game and we feel for them not to have the game on.
“Thankfully, with supporters not being allowed into games, none of our fans had travelled to Tannadice.
“So, that’s an upside.
“It was also the day that Dundee United paid their tributes to Jim McLean after his sad passing.
“All in all, it’s been far from ideal.”
