Mounting speculation that Derek McInnes could soon become the new manager of Burnley will not distract the St Johnstone players from the task of sending Hearts out of the Scottish Cup at Tynecastle tonight, midfielder Murray Davidson has insisted.
Burst pipes at the Edinburgh stadium forced a call-off of Sunday’s fourth round tie, but the problem has been rectified and Davidson maintains that the Perth men have not lost their focus for the rearranged encounter.
He said, “I think we’d probably be more worried if clubs weren’t being linked with our manager. He led St Johnstone to promotion before I came here and he kept us comfortably in the SPL last season.
“Saints came very close to the top six, so clubs in England are going to look at him when they are after a manager. That is out of our hands. But I haven’t been paying much notice to the Burnley reports. We have a big game with Hearts to prepare for and it has been business as usual here. This is our job and we are professionals. We can’t afford anything to distract us.
“Obviously we hope he is going nowhere, purely from a selfish point of view. The gaffer would definitely be missed if he moved on. But the Championship in England is a big stage. It’s totally different from up here. I think most players and managers fancy a shot at England at some stage in their careers.”
The former Livingston man revealed that the Saints squad had completed their Saturday morning preparation for what should have been a Sunday afternoon clash before they were informed of the postponement.
He said, “It was a real shock on Saturday. We had gone through our final training session and watched the video of Hearts when the gaffer said Tynecastle had problems with burst pipes and the game was off. Thankfully we aren’t having to wait long to get it played. We are already three games behind and facing games being crammed in over the next few weeks. We didn’t want any more piling-up.”Snow inconvenienceThe return of snow to Perth forced Saints back under cover at Ravenscraig for Monday morning’s Tynecastle tune-up.
“It’s not ideal for guys like me who have had injury problems,” Davidson added. “We are trying to manage it and not overdo things. But it is important I keep up my fitness levels. The gaffer and Tony Docherty are monitoring me closely. I had a full session last week indoors and I was fine.
“Other players here and at other clubs are in the same boat. Training inside is the only option in this weather. It’s important not to overdo it but we have to prepare properly. Hopefully we’ll soon see the last of the snow and we can get back on grass again. Spring can’t come soon enough for me.”I’ve had injuries to both my ankles recently but they’re not a problem now.”
Saints could justifiably claim to be one of the SPL’s form teams, but Davidson knows that even they would have to bow down to this evening’s opponents in that respect.
He said, “I can’t remember the last time Hearts lost. It’s going back months. So of course we expect a tough tie at Tynecastle. But Inverness Caley Thistle came to Perth unbeaten for more than a year away from home and we won that game. That was a big win for us. Hopefully we can end Hearts record and make it into the next round of the cup. All records have to end at some stage.
“People sometimes overlook the fact we have lost just once in our last five games and that was in stoppage time away to Celtic. We have improved from our last game with Hearts, when we lost 2-0. We are a hard team to beat now.
“Our main aim is to stay in the SPL and we still have work to do on that front but a cup run is a big things for most clubs, especially in the current economic climate.
“We have been handed a really tough draw, but we are confident we can progress. It would not be a major shock if we won because we see ourselves as SPL equals. But there is no point looking any further ahead than the Hearts tie.”
McInnes, who has no fresh injury concerns, said, “It’s early in the competition but we want to make this a memorable night for St Johnstone. It is a huge match for us and we are ready for it.”