Top scorer Stevie May has been cleared to spearhead the St Johnstone attack in their Scottish Cup quarter-final at Stark’s Park, boss Tommy Wright has revealed.
The 21-year-old had been called up to Billy Stark’s Scotland Under-21 squad for Wednesday’s friendly with Hungary at Tannadice but was eventually not risked due to a hamstring problem.
However, May trained with the Saints squad on Thursday and should be fit enough for the tie with Raith Rovers.
A flare-up while with Scotland could have put paid to any plans Wright may have had for his 21-goal hitman, but the McDiarmid Park boss is happy things have worked in his favour.
“I spoke to Billy on Saturday night to see what his plans were for Stevie, and he said he only planned to play him part of the game,” he explained.
“But Stevie woke up on Sunday and felt really tight, saw our physio and then the Scottish medical team assessed him because ultimately it was their decision.
“He probably wouldn’t have been fit enough to take part. He’s had a long season and the three or four days off would do him no harm.
“To be honest, there would have been nothing I could do about it if he had played for Scotland because if he’s deemed to be fit, he’s deemed to be fit.
“It wouldn’t matter what our game was this weekend, it was Scotland’s decision.But I think they’ve made the right decision for both them and the player, and then ultimately for us.
“I understand the job Billy has got to do, but he also understands that the player’s fitness is the most important thing in the whole scenario.”
Wright is well aware how important the tie is for Saints’ season for various reasons, but he is trying to focus on the task in hand.
“It’s a great opportunity for us and Raith to get into the semi-finals of the biggest cup competition in the country,” he continued.
“Some people may be thinking about it financially but all I’m thinking is football and trying to win a game.
“It sets up a semi-final at Ibrox for all the teams left in the competition and we’re still hurting after the League Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen. We want an opportunity to try and rectify that but, I’ve said it all week, it’s going to be a tough game.
“Raith have done well, there’s always one team every season that has a good cup run and that’s the beauty of the cup.
“But we’ve got to make sure that we’re right in terms of how we approach it, and we go into the game in a positive mind where we know we can cope with whatever they throw at us.
“We went to Morton and did well, we went to Forfar, where everybody thought it was another potential banana skin, and we’ve done well. We went to Hamilton as well earlier on in the season, we beat a good Livingston side, so we’ve managed to approach the games against lower league teams in the right frame of mind.
“We know Raith are going to work their socks off, we know they are going to fancy their chances and if we can match them in that department I think we’ve enough quality to hurt them.”
With a place in the competition’s last four at stake, Wright knows full well that the fact Saints have not yet won either the League Cup or the Scottish Cup will be hanging over their heads yet again.
He added: “That will go on until we actually do something. It doesn’t bother me, but I’ll be a lot happier at the end of the season if we can say we’re the first group of players and management to win something.
“I’m not thinking too far ahead but I did say earlier in the season that if you take the league out of it, with the squad of players we have and maybe the Rosenborg experience as well, we can beat anybody on any given day.
“I think we’ve got a lot of players who are capable of turning games, stepping up to the plate and being match-winners. I think we’re a dangerous cup side and I’ve thought that all season, for anybody.
“So if we had been playing Celtic in a cup game for instance, I still think we could get a result against them.
“Saturday should be a decent occasion and an old fashioned cup tie. Let’s hope we’re the first in the semi-finals.”