If Hearts want to get tough with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park the Perth men will be ready for them.
All action midfielder Murray Davidson likes nothing better than a boots-flying battle and that’s what he expects in the third v fourth clash this afternoon.
“The gaffer has emphasised to us that games against Hearts are really physical,” the former Livingston man said.
“So he’s warned us to keep our discipline because there are a lot of fouls in their matches.
“I think they’ve had something like 70 fouls in the last five matches, so it’s definitely going to be a real ding-dong.
“They are a big, physical side so it’s a real test playing them.
“But we love that kind of game too and personally those are the ones I really enjoy.
“The gaffer has been drumming into us all week to be ready for it but also to make sure we keep our discipline on the park.
“As a team we’re decent when we have to battle.
“Every time I’ve seen Hearts they’re the same so we’ll have to match up to them.
“We will have to make tackles and get in about them, or it will be a long afternoon.”
Saints pride themselves on being able to out-football or out-fight opponents according to Davidson.
“Battling is part of the game as well,” he pointed out. “We have been good in the past at taking teams on however they want to play.
“We believe we’re good at doing both sides of the game and that’s what will be needed this weekend.
“Football is different every game, some matches you can get the ball down, play lovely football and win.
“Other weeks it’s about getting the sleeves rolled up and getting stuck in. The ugly side of the game is just as important as the nice side.
“The pitch at our place wasn’t great against Celtic last weekend and I’d imagine it will be similar this time round.”
The Saints unbeaten run is at an end but leapfrogging Hearts into third is all the incentive they need to start another one with a win.
Davidson said: “We were disappointed at the way the game went last Sunday so we want to bounce back from it.
“Our unbeaten run came to an end so it’s now about trying to build another one up now.
“There were positives to take from the Celtic game and hopefully we can get back to winning.”
Watching Saints lose 4-3 at Tynecastle on the opening day of the season was a surreal experience for Davidson, who had picked up a knee injury in Armenia a couple of weeks before.
“I was in with the fans with a few of the other lads,” he recalled.
“I just remember being in shock in the second half when it was goal after goal because that was just so unlike us in the past.
“There’s no way anyone would have thought we’d be involved in a 4-3 game, so there was a bit of disbelief.
“But that’s really been how things have gone for us this season, we’ve scored loads more goals but conceded more than we usually do.
“At the time I had my knee injury and didn’t know how long I was going to be out for.
“As it turned out that game at Tynecastle was the only league game I missed because of it, which was incredible considering how it looked on the plane back from Armenia.
“At that time I thought it could be a real long-term injury, so thankfully it wasn’t and I’m looking forward to this weekend now.”
Simon Lappin won’t play today, while Chris Millar and Graham Cummins are also doubts.