The competition ‘favourites’ tag didn’t sit comfortably with Callum Davidson.
And now that the St Johnstone manager has been forced to deal with a coronavirus crisis ahead of Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash against St Mirren, he can cast it off without too many eyebrows being raised.
Even at a time when Saints had one cup secured and had dispatched unbeaten league champions Rangers out of the other, Davidson was reluctant to embrace the F word.
If there is one upside to losing four players for the weekend, it will be that the McDiarmid Park squad can reclaim the underdogs role they are more accustomed to.
“St Johnstone favourites?” he said, before the news broke that there would be a quartet of self-isolating Perth players watching the game on the television.
“That’s probably the first time I’ve heard that!
“The players are getting praised for how well they’re playing and rightly so.
“But we’re not the favourites in my opinion. Hibs have had a fantastic season.
“Dundee United, St Mirren and ourselves have been very similar in the league. There was very little to separate us in the table.
“It doesn’t bother me or the players if we’re called the favourites but I’m still calling us the underdogs.
“For a club like ours to win the cup double – you’d call that impossible. If anything that makes us the least likely of the four to win it.”
Saints confirmed on Thursday lunchtime that two positive tests in their camp had resulted in four players being required to self-isolate and miss the St Mirren match.
They have managed to navigate their way through this Covid-affected campaign pretty successfully through a combination of strict adherence to the guidelines and good fortune, with only captain Jason Kerr being forced out of contention previously.
This is the most serious incident of the season and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The new head of football operations, Scott Boyd, issued a statement, reading: “The Football Club can today confirm that two members of our playing staff have tested positive for Covid-19.
“They will both be missing from the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday against St Mirren.
“Thankfully, after the latest round of testing, all results were negative.
“However, as a result of the positive tests, two other players have been forced to self-isolate due to Government guidelines. The two players in question tested negative.
“We feel our staff adhered to the guidelines and this has been largely outwith our control.
“It’s very unfortunate for four of our players to miss out on the important game on Sunday.
“However, we wish all of them well and their health and wellbeing will always be our priority.
“We will keep our supporters updated if we need to share further information.
“Callum and the players will now focus on Sunday’s game.”
We’re in there fighting for it and we’re going to enjoy it.
Davidson can argue that his team isn’t the likeliest to lift the Scottish Cup on May 22 and that is has the lightest collective burden of expectation.
That Saints are just two matches away from a trophy double is incontestable though – as ridiculous as that may have sounded a few months, even weeks, ago.
“Before this year we had only ever won the Scottish Cup once and we’d never won the League Cup,” said Davidson.
“To win both competitions in one season wouldn’t have even been in the wildest dreams of any St Johnstone supporter.
“But we’ve got the chance to do it.
“There’s a 25% chance of us succeeding at the moment and hopefully that’s up to 50% by Sunday.
“We’re in there fighting for it and we’re going to enjoy it.”
The response from Davidson’s captain after that mid-campaign low-point has been emphatic.
“Jason’s a young centre-half,” he said. “All three of them are young. They’re going to make mistakes in games.
“It’s about how you learn from them.
“Since the turn of the year Jason has been our best and most consistent player, even though the other two centre-halves could probably argue about that. And there are others.
“I think he’s been phenomenal.
“He’s grown into the role of captain and handled it very well off the pitch, which is a big thing.
“He’s got the backing of the players and has gone on from strength to strength.
“He’s quite a sensible young man. He’s not a bawler or a shouter. He trains unbelievably well and leads on the pitch with his attitude.
“His desire to win games of football is a big thing. Players follow that.
“It was tough to be a captain at a young age. Liam Craig has helped him grow into the position.”
Stepping up to take one of the spot-kicks in the quarter-final was an example of Kerr’s ‘lead from the front’ mindset.
Rocket
/ˈrɒkɪt/Definition
– St Johnstone Defender @JasonKerr08 's right foot 🚀#SJFC pic.twitter.com/8rRD9cCRlc
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) April 28, 2021
“I didn’t expect that one,” said Davidson. “I think my eyes were shut when he was taking it! It was a great penalty, wasn’t it.
“It shows you the confidence he has and I was delighted he took the responsibility.”
Davidson could go in a number of different selection directions and be confident of a strong Hampden performance from his starting 11 – even with four players (five if you include Scott Tanser) ruled out.
“Most of the players have got two 90 minutes in the last four games,” he said.
“They’re all match fit, which isn’t easy in Covid time because you can’t play bounce games.
“It’s a tough team for me to pick. I’ve got players who have done well for me in big games.”
