St Johnstone midfielder Murray Davidson says competition for places at the Perth club has helped him get back to his best.
The 25-year-old was one of Saints’ star performers as he returned to the First XI against Hearts last weekend and will be hoping to have done enough to earn a regular starting slot.
Davidson, who looked set to be heading for pastures new in the summer, always knew that signing a contract at Saints would not necessarily put him at the top of the pecking order so is doing all he can to make a starting jersey his own.
“I’ve been ready to go for the last couple of weeks and I came on in the last couple of games but Saturday at Tynecastle I thought the team was excellent and I felt physically stronger,” he said.
“I’m delighted with the performance and this is probably the most competition for places there has been since I’ve been here. It’s not just in terms of numbers but the quality of the ones who have been playing.
“Paddy (Cregg) was on the bench, Liam Caddis has come in and every time he’s played he’s done excellently, so everybody knows that if you are slightly below par there’s a chance you won’t be playing next game.
“But it’s good for the team and you’d rather have that than knowing you could be a two out of 10 every week and still staying in the team because there’s no competition for places.
“It’s obvious to see that our midfield is the strongest area in depth this year so the players know they need to be performing.”
Towards the end of last season, Davidson found himself playing through the pain barrier with niggling injuries, in particular a knee injury that required a bespoke training programme to be drawn up.
The midfielder revealed it was dedication to the cause that kept him going.
He explained: “Last season there were a couple of games where I took injections and I was fine during the game but on the Sunday I was thinking: ‘I can’t keep doing this.’
“I couldn’t get out of bed and just do normal things like playing with my nephew. You are thinking: ‘Is it worth it?’ but to be honest the team needed everybody we could get so I was putting the team first.
“But this season when I signed, the manager and Callum (Davidson) said that if I wasn’t 100% then I should say to them as hard as it is.
“That’s another positive of having such good strength in depth in there that if I am not 100% then I can take a week off to get myself fully fit.
“Last year I spoke to the medical staff and it was lucky because it was an injury that I couldn’t do really do any long-term damage and, as sore as it was and as hard it was, it wasn’t affecting me long term.
“That’s a completely different thing when it’s affecting your future but I was able to do injections and miss training last year to be honest I was hardly training at the end of last year.
“I think I trained once a week if I was lucky but, like I say, it’s different this year. Physically I feel good and back to as close to 100% as you can be.
“Hopefully on Saturday that showed and I’ve just got to try and keep to that level of performance.”