Bravery has been at the core of St Johnstone’s European success story, according to manager Tommy Wright, but not in the traditional Scottish football meaning of the word.
As the McDiarmid Park boss prepares for the second leg of their Europa League qualifier aginst FC Minsk, with a two-leg victory over Rosenborg in the previous round and a one-goal advantage over their visitors already to their name, Wright praised his players for their on-field courage.
And it is the sort of courage that teams from this country in European competition have not been renowned for in recent years. Celtic apart, it’s been a case of defeat following defeat.
He explained: “We encourage the players from what we do in training to play. We want them to be brave on the ball and work hard.
“Bravery in football is not about running about kicking people, it’s about wanting the ball and having the confidence to take it in tight situations.
“It’s about trusting your team-mates and knowing they have the backing from the coaching staff. We don’t over-play, but we’re trying to do things the right way. We trust the players, we ask them to do things we know they’re capable of.
“The lads are playing with a confidence and freedom at the moment. They know if they make a mistake, as long as they’re doing the right things, they won’t get their heads chewed off.
“We’re not doing anything fancy, it’s simple stuff but the key is to do it well.”
Wright has been at St Johnstone for the best part of two years, and he admitted that the standard of football has been raised to a new level over the last few weeks.
“Training has always been good here, but this summer it’s been exceptional,” the Irishman pointed out.
“The boys have come back and everyone has been flying,” said Tommy Wright.
“They’ve worked really hard but nobody here is getting carried away.”
Unbeaten in Europe and the league, this is new territory for traditionally slow-starting Saints. Wright has been in the game long enough to know a fast start is no guarantee of long-term success.
Standards can’t be allowed to slip, and he doesns’t envisage that happening.
“We’ve played four good matches but it’s a long season and we have to keep it going,” he stressed.
“But of course we’re pleased, last season it took us seven games to get that first win. Last year we were playing well so nobody was panicking. But of course it’s nice to start off with a win.
“We’ve had a decent home record and wanted to continue that. We’ve had loads of positive press and it’s flattering. The club is a good place to be at the minute but we know that a couple of defeats and people will be saying our bubble has burst.
“But this isn’t a dressing-room that will get carried away. We have experienced players and as a coaching staff, Callum (Davidson), Alec (Cleland) and myself won’t let it happen.
“If we thought that was the case we’d soon put an end to it. We want to keep things going and that means putting in the same hard work every week.”