St Johnstone hat-trick hero Steven MacLean won’t play against Killie

He may have just scored a hat-trick to become the joint top scorer in the Scottish Premiership, but it won’t keep Steven MacLean in the St Johnstone team on Saturday.

Perth boss Tommy Wright has revealed that his policy of not playing MacLean on artificial pitches will continue, even though he knows the experienced frontman will try to persuade him otherwise.

So that means MacLean will be left out at Rugby Park.

“I am fully expecting Macca to come knocking on my door saying he expects to play after scoring a hat-trick,” Wright admitted.

“He will be desperate to play. But the medical team here have to look after his knee. He won’t play.

“There will be no barney. He has to remember who makes the decisions.

“Macca has to play until he is 35 or older. The consultant warned him he had to stay away from these type of pitches so it is an easy decision for me to make.

“We also have a midweek game against Rangers in the cup next Tuesday to think about.”