A derby win at Dundee would be the perfect way to sign off a memorable 2016 for St Johnstone, according to manager Tommy Wright.
The Perth side’s away form has been particularly impressive over the last 12 months – only one league defeat this season and five in the calendar year in total.
And their recent form isn’t too shabby either – five unbeaten.
Now, with Hearts and Aberdeen playing each other tonight, they can close in on one or both of the next two sides above them in the Premiership table with a Dens Park victory.
“It is an important game for both sides,” Wright said. “These matches usually very competitive and there hasn’t been much in the games between us.
“Dundee have stiffened up at the back but with our away form and Wednesday’s performance we can go to Dens with confidence high and take the game to them.
“We have been unbeaten in five games so far this month and it would be nice to make it six.
“And it has been a great calendar year for the club. We have only lost five games away from home all year.
“And we have only lost six games since the split last season. But we don’t get carried away.
“We have put ourselves in a very good position and have a big derby game to round off what has been a great year. We can finish it off on a real high and take us over the 30-point barrier. A win would see us gain ground on Hearts or Aberdeen, or both.”
All of the players who drew with Rangers in midweek should be available and Murray Davidson is back after serving his one-match suspension.
Wright has plenty of options in midfield in particular, with Chris Millar, Paul Paton, Davidson, Blair Alston, Liam Craig and David Wotherspoon all performing well when they’ve had the chance recently.
Millar was taken off early against Rangers because “he was tiring”, Wright explained, and the Northern Irishman has made a point of stressing Alston did nothing wrong either.
“There were tough decisions to make but as a manager you can’t be afraid to make them,” he said. “You have to decide what is best for the team.
“I felt sorry for Blair because he didn’t do a lot wrong.
“We probably looked better going forward with David Wotherspoon in a wing back role but Barrie McKay was causing us too many problems. He is an influential player for Rangers and we had to address that.
“We had to get Richard Foster back to the right hand side. So even though there were only a few minutes left until half-time we feared we might lose a goal and Blair was sacrificed through no fault of his own.
“I spoke to Blair at half-time and again in front of the rest of the players after the game. I explained the situation and he is fully aware of why the decision was made. He knows it wasn’t a slight in any way.
“Ultimately the manager’s role is to get the best out of his team. As a manager you live and die by your decisions and this was the right one.”
The switch to a back three mid-game paid off for Wright, who praised his players for the speed with which they adapted to the change.
He said: “We haven’t really worked a lot on a back three formation although we have played it a few times before. But I know my players and Richard and David have played wing back before.
“We touched on it before the game and Rangers were causing us problems early on. They have quality players.
“But our players know the game, they are tactically astute. So when we make a change we know they can adapt.”
Wednesday night’s goal was Steven MacLean’s eighth of the campaign.
Wright said: “Macca is having another good season.
“His goal wasn’t an accident. From Rangers point of view you can say it was poor play but we set up to force them to play back to the goalkeeper and laid a trap which Macca took full advantage of. He was alive to it and pounced. We had to be in a position to capitalise rather than sit off them. So Macca deserves a lot of credit.”