He became St Johnstone’s top goalscorer in the league with a stunning 25-yard strike past Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart.
But Drey Wright thinks he’s still got a lot of work to do to convince his manager he should be trying his luck from long range on a regular basis.
“I was becoming a bit of a tap-in merchant this season, all very similar goals,” said the Englishman, who is now on five for the campaign, the same total as Stevie May in league and cups but one ahead of him in the Premiership charts.
“But the one on Wednesday against Motherwell was a good finish and then against Celtic was from outside of the box.
ST JOHNSTONE ARE BACK IN IT!
A beauty from Wright and it's game on… 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xji6vy2Ad5
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 5, 2023
“The goalkeeper got a touch but seeing the ball hit the back of the net was a relief.
“There is a bit of variety to the goals now, which is nice.
“But I’m not sure I’ll be getting encouraged to keep shooting from that distance because I’ve had a few in training and previous games nowhere near the net.
“I played striker Sunday league and scored loads of goals. The professional game is a bit tougher!”
Form curve still moving up
Wright’s two goals against Celtic this season have proved to be just consolation strikes but his others have played a key part in earning two wins and a draw.
“It is nice to get amongst the goals and long may it continue if it helps us pick up points,” said the former Hibs man.
“Personally it is a good thing for me. It has never really been a massive part of my game.
“I think my highest total has always been three and that was my first year playing the game.”
Wright believes Saints maintained their recent form improvement against the champions, even if the scoreline paints a picture of a comfortable afternoon for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
“When you get the ball against Celtic you need to protect it and I think we did that,” he said.
“It was probably one of our best performances in possession against them and we limited them to fewer chances.
“But, with the quality they have got, they will punish you.
“We were 3-1 down at half-time but were still quite positive. When we get the ball down and play we are a good side.
“The surface has been mentioned a lot and it is difficult to do that but I think both teams gave a good account of themselves.”
Tannadice ‘six-pointer’ next
Out of the Scottish Cup, the Saints players will now get some time off and a free weekend before thoughts turn to Dundee United and the opportunity to open up a 10-point gap on their Tayside rivals.
“Consistency is massive in this league and we have put in a few good performances now,” said Wright.
“If we keep that up we will pick up a lot more points than we have over the previous little run.
“We have a massive game away at Tannadice next and all eyes will be on that.
“We know that every game is winnable and there is no reason we can’t put a solid run together and climb up the table.
“Last Wednesday (beating Motherwell) was massive for us and now we have a bit of a six-pointer that we will be looking to win.”
The perfect start 🤩@nickyclark91's close control 🤤
Drey Wright with the calm finish 🥶#SJFC | @EwanWaddellTV 📷 pic.twitter.com/KvsReHGv6J— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 2, 2023
Wright, taken off after 70 minutes in Sunday’s match, is optimistic that he hasn’t picked up a serious injury.
“My hamstring tightened up a little, tracking one of the 75 runs back I did with Maeda during the game,” he said.
“I didn’t want to aggravate it or make it any worse. It was more of a precaution to come off.”
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