St Johnstone boss Steve Lomas insists this is the perfect time for him to break his derby duck against Dundee United.
The Northern Irishman has yet to taste victory over the Tangerines since he took over in the McDiarmid Park hotseat from Derek McInnes in November 2011.
However, he is not the only suffering Saint, with the Perth side collectively failing to beat their Tayside rivals since their return to the SPL in 2009, with the only recent triumph coming in the same year in a League Cup tie thanks to a Steven Anderson counter and an own goal by United’s Darren Dods.
Now though, Lomas is determined to end the jinx on Monday, safe in the knowledge that victory would secure a second successive top-six finish.
He said: “The games against United have frustrated me since I came to the club. They beat us 5-1 at home and when you look at the game we were the better side for 60 minutes. We’ve not beaten them since I came to the club and I’d like to change that.”
The manager added: “They’re a good side they have experienced players like Jon Daly, Sean Dillon and Willo Flood and some very exciting young players to go with them.
“So it’s never easy against them. United will go for it. It’s a local derby, both teams need a win and it’s on TV so it’s set up for a cracking match.
“It would be a nice time to put the record we have against them to bed. But they’ll really go for it.”
Lomas will have a new opponent in the away dug-out on Monday with Jackie McNamara having taken over from Peter Houston at United in February.
And the Saints boss has been impressed by the way the former Celtic captain has settled in at Tannadice.
Lomas added: “Jackie has done well since he went in there. He’s inherited a good squad of players. Peter had lost a lot of players in the last few years and was without Gary Mackay-Steven for most of this season. Jackie has got them playing but he’s been unlucky in that he’s lost the likes of Johnny Russell.”
A point against the Tangerines would possibly secure Saints’ second consecutive top-six finish but Lomas insists his players will be going for the jugular.
He said: “We won’t be playing for a point, we want to kick on. The league is so tight, we want to put this to bed. It’s a big game for us. We want to get the win and then look at it from there. The players know it’s there for them to grab.”
St Johnstone have not tasted competitive action since they beat Kilmarnock at McDiarmid Park on March 9 and Lomas admits he will not know if the international break has halted any momentum until the dust has settled on Monday’s derby.
However, one thing he is certain of is that the time off has allowed players to recover from injuries they have been carrying, including long-term crock Gary Miller.
He said: “Whether the break has been a good thing or not we won’t know until Monday. If we win, then it will have been great.
“It has helped us rest a few players up and get some guys fit. But you wouldn’t ideally want to be three weeks off at this time of the season.
“Although we’ve managed to play a couple of bounce games, one among ourselves and the other against an American college team.
“Gary has done really well, he’s worked hard and played in a few bounce games. So he’s in contention for the game on Monday night.
“It has been good to get a break for him and get him back again.”
Saints have sent two defenders from their Under-20 side out on loan for the remainder of the season. Chris Moffat has gone to East Stirlingshire and Gareth Rodger to Brechin City.