St Johnstone assistant boss Callum Davidson believes wild horses couldn’t drag Tommy Wright away from Saturday’s game with Partick Thistle.
The manager is recovering after having gall bladder surgery and was only released from Perth Royal Infirmary on Tuesday.
Despite that, Davidson, who has steered Saints to two wins in the Northern Irishman’s absence against Hibs and St Mirren, is certain Wright will be in attendance at McDiarmid on Saturday.
And the assistant joked that the players had better be doing well by half-time otherwise they could be in for a rollicking from the recuperating Wright.
Davidson said: “Tommy is getting agitated on the phone. That’s a sign he’s on the mend. He has to take it easy but it’s good news that he’s back.
“He will definitely be at the game. I’m not sure he should be in the dug-out jumping about. He might be in the directors’ box but he will be there, that’s for sure.
“Football is a passionate game and it is very hard to sit there and take it easy in the technical area.
“He was phoning the kitman at half-time in Paisley this week asking about the substitutions so it will be better to have him there passing on instructions, even if it is from a seat in the stand.
“It will be up to Tommy to decide if he wants to come into the dressing-room at the start or at half-time. But I might warn the lads they’d better be winning or he could come in and lose his temper, bursting the stitches along the way and that wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone!”
Saints secured their third successive top-six finish last Saturday against Hibs and Davidson admitted he was delighted they maintained the same high standards by beating St Mirren on Tuesday in Paisley.
And he believes that the carrot of next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen is keeping everyone on their toes as they attempt to catch Inverness and possibly Dundee United in the league.
He added: “I watched Partick lose to Celtic on Wednesday night and they took a couple of players off with our game in mind. They are fighting for their lives. While it will be tough with Dundee United now nine points ahead in fourth place, we have to aim for them.
“We just have to keep winning games to exert pressure on them.
“The team for the semi-final won’t be picked until the week of the Aberdeen game but the players have places to fight for and that will help give us an edge.
“We had a blip against Ross County but we have been turning in good performances and I think it will be in the back of their minds. It is a big carrot for them all.”
Saints will face a Thistle side desperate to take points to edge away from the relegation play-off spot.
Davidson welcomes the introduction of play-offs, but believes they can be sheer torture for the people involved in them.
He said: “They are great for keeping interest going right to the end of the season but not for managers, players and supporters.
“It gives a team in the Championship race a chance to get up. It is tough if there is just one up and one down.
“I was in play-offs in England but they are all positive ones, with teams looking to come up. They don’t involve a series of clubs at the bottom.
“It is hard when you are losing games to pick yourself up. Teams in the Championship are used to winning and have a bit of confidence which can help going in to the play-offs.”
Gary McDonald is an injury doubt after hurting his knee during the warm-up in Paisley but Brian Easton returns from a hamstring strain. Stevie May comes back into contention while Tim Clancy should be available.