Callum Davidson is relieved to see a string of casualties staking claims for a return to action in the weekend clash against Celtic.
While defender Shaun Rooney is ruled out by an ankle injury which forced him out of the 3-0 loss to Livingston, midfielder Ali Crawford and centre-back Liam Gordon have stepped-up training.
Gordon, who clocked-up 48 appearances in the cup double winning campaign and recently penned a contract extension, has been restricted to just five games this term.
A knee injury picked up in the 1-1 Euro away clash with Austrian side LASK in August has kept the 25-year-old out of Davidson’s plans.
‘Liam a leader’
“We will look at Liam this week and assess him from there,” said the McDiarmid manager.
“It’s great to have him back training but it is a different story being fit enough to go in against Celtic after so long without a game.
“We have probably missed his communication on the pitch.
“Liam is a leader and you always hear his voice. It will be good to get him back.”
Davidson admits his defensive options have improved markedly from last term, when Gordon, Jamie McCart and skipper Jason Kerr, now at Wigan, provided a settled rear guard.
“At least this season we have cover at the back,” he said.
“We’d have struggled last time round if we had picked up so many injuries.
“Last season we were lucky that the defence stayed injury free.
“Even when I was playing, successful managers generally had a settled defence, whether it was a back three or a four.
“I did appreciate we were fortunate last season that Jason, Liam and Jamie played so many games for us.
“They had a great partnership together. They knew how each other played.
“Against Livingston there were bits of the game when I thought we were a little disjointed, probably down to new players settling in.”
Squad in better shape
Midfielders Murray Davidson and Craig Bryson featured on the bench against the Lions.
So the Perth squad is in better shape for the trip to Glasgow.
Davidson’s players know they can’t afford a repeat of the costly defensive lapses which marred the display against Livingston.
Davidson is relieved that one-time Celt Efe Ambrose is set to face his former club, along with wingback Michael O’Halloran.
They crashed into each other in the build-up to Livingston’s third goal and precautionary measures meant they didn’t see out the 90 minutes.
“We will continue to assess Efe and Michael. They took head knocks but weren’t too bad thankfully.
“They were both fine on Sunday so that was great news for us.
“It is nice to be getting some of our injured players back, especially for a game with Celtic when ideally you’d have a full squad to choose from.
“Murray and Craig made the bench for the Livingston game and Ali is available again.
“It’s now about forging the right partnerships in the team.
“It would be nice to get a run of games where the selection is pretty consistent.
“Our performances have generally been ok defensively but there are places up for grabs in the team.
“James Brown was doing well for us at right centre-half then he missed out with an injury.
“Lars (Dendoncker) and Hayden (Muller) are also pushing for starts.
“Do the basics right and win games of football and that helps you stay in the team.
“I am looking for a run of consistent performances and results to help us climb the table.”
