St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright fully expects to face a backlash from Inverness at McDiarmid Park after their mauling at the hands of Partick Thistle seven days ago.
But Wright remains fully focused on his side’s task in Perth this afternoon, and that’s to continue chipping away at the lead the teams above them have in the table.
Caley, who sit in second spot in the Premiership, head south after a shock 4-0 loss at home last weekend, and John Hughes’ men will be out to make amends.
However, this afternoon is the start of an important festive period for Saints who could well find themselves challenging for a place in the top four in early January should results go their way.
“Take nothing away from Partick, but even though they’ve got players who score goals and flair players, I think the scoreline was probably the biggest surprise,” Wright commented.
“I don’t think the win was the surprise as anybody can beat anybody in this league, but the scoreline was.
“I’ve watched Inverness a few times this year and they’ve been pretty solid most of that time.
“They are a good side, they’ve got a good squad, and when you are a smaller squad doing well I always feel the important thing is not to lose players.
“They haven’t lost anybody from their squad from last year and they’ve had a bonus with the likes of Ryan Christie, who was used fleetingly last year, really coming to the fore.
“So they’ve done well to keep their squad together and it’s a good mix of experienced and younger players.
“They’ve been really good all season and that’s why they are up near the top of the league.
“But we’ve got an opportunity to close the gap and that’s what we’ve got to try and do.
“It’s boring and I keep saying it but we can only take each game as it comes and you can’t look too far ahead.
“The good thing about the games coming up is that we know if we beat the teams then we gain on them we’re not looking for any favours from elsewhere.
“Every one of the teams we play in the next four, we know we’ll gain in some way.”
James McFadden is Saints’ only fresh absentee this afternoon after his hamstring injury at Rugby Park last weekend.