St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson will have some of his sidelined players available for Saturday’s Euro shoot-out with Livingston.
But, with the following weekend’s Scottish Cup final in mind, he knows he’s got a precarious team selection “balancing act” ahead of him.
Davidson had to cope without nine men at Celtic Park in midweek and had only two senior pros on their bench, as Saints went down to their heaviest defeat of the season.
So reinforcements will be gratefully welcomed back into his pool.
On the other hand, though, the Perth boss has to be wary of rushing them back into action before they are ready.
“It is a balancing act,” he said.
“If I had everyone fit and available I would tweak a few things here and there but I don’t have that luxury.
“Hopefully we will have three or four players back. It just depends on how fit they are after the lay-off.
“We will assess them and hopefully get them involved to give the other players a hand.
“We will be doing our best to get a result.
“Obviously the Celtic game was really difficult but it was important we got it played.
“On Tuesday I didn’t know if I had a team for Wednesday but with the help of government testing we managed to get a team out on the pitch.
“OK it was a 4-0 defeat but we put in a real shift with a really small squad.
“The lads are putting their bodies on the line, playing Sunday and Wednesday and now Saturday. That’s a really tough ask.”
“As a manager, the last seven or eight days have been the hardest of the season,” he said.
“It has been the least enjoyable spell since I took on the job.
“And it’s come at a time when it should be the most enjoyable because everything has been so positive on the pitch.
“But I would rather take all the pressure and make sure the players are healthy and comfortable and at their best to perform in these two remaining games.
“That is my job right now.
“I don’t think Covid makes it easy for anyone. It’s a horrible virus.
“In football terms, it’s not just me. Every manager is finding it really difficult to deal with.
“I have a duty to make sure my players are as safe as possible.
“That isn’t something you learn from manuals or doing your coaching badges.
“You have to think of the families and the knock-on effects as well.
“We have to make sure the players are fit and healthy because obviously the cup final is hugely important to everyone.”
Saturday’s match against Livingston might not have equivalent status to the one that follows it seven day later.
But winning or drawing it will guarantee a spot in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Even after the season Saints have enjoyed, that’s a significant prize.
“It’s great for Scottish football that we have still teams playing for something,” said Davidson.
“There are league places going right down to the final game of the season.
“There are three or four matches that mean an awful lot.
“In one way I wish it wasn’t so important to us with the cup final coming up.
“But on the football side of it I’m delighted we are in this position.
“You want to be as successful as you can be as a manager and taking St Johnstone into Europe would be special.
“We are fighting for Europe and in another final. If you’d said that back at the start I’d have said: ‘Wow, let’s go!’
“I’d have taken that for sure and it is all down to the players.
“They have worked towards this all season and they deserve the credit for where we are.”
This is a massive game for us the week before a cup final.
He added: “Now we are focused on a weekend game which gives us a chance of finishing fifth and we now know we can cement our place in Europe.
“So this is a massive game for us a week before the cup final.
“It is going to take a big effort against Livingston to get us over the line.
“But I know the lads want to do it. My team talks are easy just now. I don’t really have to say too much. I know what they want to achieve and that is driving them on.
“We have to park the cup final for the moment because we have a chance here to get us into Europe.
“I know the fans want us to win the Scottish Cup but they also want us to get into Europe again.”
