David Wotherspoon has grown accustomed to life as one of the main men at St Johnstone.
Sometimes even the main man.
He’s the only Perth player to start (and win) three cup finals and appear at a World Cup.
But the club legend, talked about as Saints’ greatest ever, has been a substitute for the last five games, and an unused one in two of those.
Performances of others have kept Wotherspoon out of the starting line-up of late, according to Callum Davidson.
And the 33-year-old is fighting hard for a Premiership recall.
“The boys who have played the last few games have deserved to,” said Davidson.
“It’s been great for me that they’ve done well and got a couple of important wins.
“It’s also great for me that the other guys are really hungry – players like Jamie Murphy and David Wotherspoon. Graham Carey as well, but he’s played a bit more.
“They’ve looked really determined in training.
“I’ve spoken to them and they are frustrated. But that’s what I’d expect.
“It’s part of being in a squad.”
Davidson, who wants to keep Wotherspoon at McDiarmid Park after his contract runs out this summer, added: “David came back from a really bad injury and everything was geared towards getting to the World Cup.
“You can see him getting back to his best in training.
“He’s got to fight for his place in the team whereas before the injury he was used to being a definite starter.
“Other players are doing well in his position and I know his attitude will be terrific and he’ll want to show me that he deserves to be in the team.
“We’re all striving for the same thing – win as many games as we can.”
Top six push
Davidson knows that Saturday’s clash with St Mirren presents a big opportunity to accelerate Saints’ top six push.
“They’re all huge games between now and the end of the season,” he said.
“St Mirren have done really well under Stephen Robinson.
“They probably don’t have as much possession as some teams but what they do is defend their box well, work hard and are good in the opposition box.
“That’s a recipe for success.
“If we can win this game we can put pressure on the teams above us. If we don’t, it will be a tougher ask to get to the top six.
“Can we back up last Saturday’s win? It would be massive if we could.”
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