The possible postponement of a football match has been put into perspective by the flooding “heartache” suffered by the people of Perthshire this week, according to St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright.
Since Sunday’s league game against Aberdeen was called off the rain has barely stopped.
Wright is still hopeful that the predicted weather improvement will make sure tomorrow’s Scottish Cup clash against Kilmarnock goes ahead.
But, if not, the Perth boss won’t be getting overly concern about a third postponement in recent weeks and the consequent fixture backlog.
“We expect the game to go ahead but if the rain continues there will be a lot of games in doubt,” Wright said.
“We just need to prepare as best we can and that’s what we have done all week.
“It was disappointing to have last week’s game cancelled because it gives us another game to organise on the back of Partick and the League Cup semi-final.
“We don’t like to see any games cancelled. But the club will be doing everything to get the game on. You can’t do anything about continuous rain.
“There are more important things to worry about in terms of the heartache caused to families. People are having to move out of homes.
“If it’s on it’s on. But if not it will be rearranged for Tuesday.”
There was positive injury news to report.
“Simon Lappin and Graham Cummins played for the under-20s on Tuesday night,” Wright said. “So they will both be available for selection on Saturday.
“Scott Brown is back and will be available. Steven Aitken indicated that he wanted to keep him but had to look at the finances of it.”
Mixu Paatelainen confirmed that Saints had been in touch with United regarding Ryan Dow, but Wright was reluctant to speak about a specific player.
“We have various targets and are speaking to a few players and agents,” he said. “If something happens we will announce it.
“A wide player is a target and as I say we have various options and are speaking to various players.”
On tomorrow’s cup opponents, Wright said: “Kilmarnock have fire-power and quality, particularly going forward. But Gary is probably looking for a better level of consistency. That’s what has hurt them this season.
“They went to Celtic Park and got a draw, put in a good performance against Hearts at the weekend and were unlucky against Ross County.
“So they have players who can hurt you and are dangerous opponents because of their unpredictably.
“Gary is a fighter and someone who works extremely hard, we all work extremely hard.
“He is totally focused on the job and because of the inconsistencies it’s probably been a frustrating season for him.
“He’s had to come through a lot. For me he has come through it with a lot of dignity and courage. He has total faith in his team and will continue to work hard.”