St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright maintains that his side have what it takes to end Dundee’s winning run in this weekend’s Tayside derby.
Paul Hartley’s side have been impressive since returning to the top flight and have won their last three Premiership games, with the 3-1 win at Kilmarnock taking the Dark Blues to within touching distance of the top six.
However, Saints have not given up hope of securing a spot in the top half themselves and travel to Dens buoyed by their first league win since the end of August.
“I was at the Dundee game on Saturday and they have got quality in their team,” Wright commented.
“They’ve looked a goal threat, particularly on the counter attack, and I would say they would be satisfied with the start they’ve made.
“But if you look at us, we’re only five points off the start we made last year so it can change very quickly.
“We know it can change, but what has remained in the squad is belief that we can turn the corner.
“The 2-1 win over Motherwell was a start, and we have to build on that.”
Wright is hoping Saints’ success last time out will spark a winning run that can get them back into top six contention, and the significance of stopping their poor string of results is not lost on the Perth boss.
“It was an important result,” he admitted. “It didn’t look like we would get it at 1-0 and they had a couple of chances after that.
“I think Alan Mannus’ save is crucial to the victory to be honest. But I’m really pleased with the character and the quality we showed at times.
“The two goals are real quality and I think the desire to get back in the game was great for the first goal Steven Anderson made a 70-yard run to create a four versus three.
“The determination was there to get the victory and that was good to see,” said Wright.
The Saints boss should have a number of players back for the trip to Dens Park, with the likes of Murray Davidson, Simon Lappin, David Wotherspoon and James McFadden all expected to shake off their various ailments to be available for selection.
However, Wright is taking nothing for granted as experience tells him differently.
“You are sitting on Monday last week and before Tuesday’s game against Rangers your bench is looking quite strong,” he said.
“Then we end up having to have three U20s on the bench before the Motherwell game, Ally Gilchrist, Dylan Easton and Scott Brown. We also had Liam Caddis and Adam Morgan there as well, who are young guys.
“So you end up with a few niggling injuries and a less experienced bench than what we had at Rangers. It just shows you how things can change.”
* McDiarmid Park hosts the Scotland v Wales schoolboys’ Victory Shield clash tomorrow. The game has a 7pm kick-off and entry is £5 for adults and free to under-16s.