St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson is thrilled that he’s helped deliver Perth fans their first home win against Rangers for over a decade.
But the McDiarmid Park boss, whose side are now fifth in the Premiership, is determined that there will be more victories to come before the World Cup break.
James Brown and Nicky Clark got Saints’ goals in the 2-1 triumph that makes it nine points out of nine.
There are six still left to play for this week, though.
And Davidson in no mood to rest on his laurels.
“We need to make sure we don’t sit on this victory,” he said. “We need to go and do well on Wednesday night (against St Mirren) as well.
“For the fans this is great but for me it’s another three points as we try to climb the league.
“The signs are good but we need to keep our focus.
“We’re building momentum.
“We’ve got competition for places – in the team and on the bench.
“It’s a great place to be in.
“We won’t get carried away though. We want to finish this stage of the season really well.”
Game of two halves again
As against Celtic, Saints weren’t at their best in the first half.
But this time a big second 45 improvement got its reward.
“In the first half we weren’t good enough with the ball,” said Davidson. “We were a wee bit nervous and we didn’t keep the ball.
“As a unit we limited their chances though.
🤯 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 🤯
A thunderous wonder strike from James Brown has St Johnstone ahead! 💥 pic.twitter.com/D4tLuYKCYh
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 6, 2022
“Then James Brown scores – I haven’t even seen him hit the net in training so that was a surprise!
“He was in the team because he’s a very good one v one defender so to see him get a goal was fantastic.
“In the second half we were better. We showed more composure. That was the most pleasing aspect of the game for me.”
Liam Gordon missed the match through illness, while Remi Matthews was out with a hip problem.
“I lost my captain today,” said Davidson. “There are a few players who have gone down with a sickness bug.
“And Remi has a slight injury. Elliott Parish performed really well on his first start in the league.”
Nicky Clark like Steven MacLean
The Clark and May partnership is reminding Davidson of the one that was so productive in 2013/14 – May and Steven MacLean.
“Nicky is giving us quality and composure,” he said. “He’s a very clever player.
“He links with his other striker, which has been Stevie most of the time.
“It was fantastic he got a goal because he put in a tremendous shift.
“Both of our strikers did.
“The two of them worked hard going back the way and in getting us up the pitch.
😱 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐓 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄 😱
Nicky Clark's magical finish makes it 2-0 against Rangers 🚨 pic.twitter.com/51h2BUvKTp
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 6, 2022
“Nicky does remind me of Macca.
“That’s what I’ve been looking for.
“He does a bit of everything – holds it up, win headers and scores goals. And he can run – which Macca couldn’t!
“Stevie is bouncing off him but he’s bringing other players into the game as well.”
Meanwhile, Davidson confirmed David Wotherspoon, who started the match, will be available in midweek.
“He’ll still be here for Wednesday,” he said.
“Hopefully the Canadian manager was watching and that will accelerate his progress into the squad.
“He lasted a bit longer than I thought he would. He was great for us.”
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