St Johnstone talisman Zander Clark admits it’s high time the tide turned.
The highly-regarded keeper has cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines after being ruled out of the last four games by an ill-timed hamstring strain.
But the towering 26-year-old shotstopper will return against St Mirren in tonight’s re-scheduled clash as the Perth Saints seek to deliver a hammer blow to the Buddies’ top flight survival prospects.
And after claiming just one point from 24, Clark’s priority is lending a hand to reviving boss Tommy Wright’s top six prospects.
“Going on runs like this has been our trademark in recent seasons,” he admitted.
“We often have a good spell then a prolonged bad spell, but we have always come out of it on the other side.
“The same will happen again. Most of the lads have been through it before so we know how to handle it.
“We have played well in some games but haven’t had the breaks we got earlier in the season.
“But all you can do is keep going and hopefully the start of it turning will come this week.”
Clark clocked-up a club shut-out record earlier in the campaign.
But he admits the recent run has been grim.
“The form guide doesn’t look pretty and you don’t like to see it every time it pops up on social media or in the papers,” he said.
“But we had been on a great run earlier in the season and that has meant we built up a fair gap to the teams below us.
“But we are not looking that way. We are focused on the teams above us and there are 12 points still to play for.
“We have the belief we can go and put a string of wins together.
“If we want to give ourselves a chance of being in the top six then getting four wins is the aim right now.
“But you can only take one at a time and the full focus is on the game with St Mirren.”
The Buddies might be locked in the basement but Clark has warned they will be dangerous foes.
“St Mirren will make it tough, though, they are fighting for their lives and they have improved a fair bit lately.
“They have had some decent results so we know it’s going to be a difficult game.
“They have made a lot of changes to their team since we last played them so it will be a different kind of test compared to earlier in the season.”
Clark’s hamstring injury ruled him out of contention for a possible Scotland call-up.
“My hamstring is feeling good now,” he reported. “I’ve done five or six training sessions on it now and have been doing more every day.
“I have been back doing the full work for a few days now so I’m ready to go.
“It has been frustrating, especially when the team isn’t doing well because you want to be out there helping.
“If I had a couple of quid for every time someone asked me how a keeper can do his hammy I’d be pretty rich.
“People don’t seem to understand how it could have happened but I just came out to make a spread save, stretched my leg out and felt it go.
“My leg just kept sliding and my weight came through on to the tendon area.
“It was one of those ones you do up to nine or ten times in every training session so it was just unlucky.
“It was a bit of a freak one.
“What it did was affect the range of movement. I could go so far but it ended up restricted.
“So all I could do was rest it and then start building it up again.”
Defender Brian Easton got another 90 minutes of reserve team action on Monday in a 3-0 loss to Hamilton Accies.
After being sidelined for 15 months by groin troubles the left-back is edging closer to a first team recall.
