St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown insists the club will honour their pre-contract agreement with Richie Brittain, despite the potentially-serious injury suffered by the player at the weekend.
The Ross County skipper was taken to hospital after injuring his knee during the Staggies game at Motherwell on Sunday and will discover the full extent of his injury later this week.
However, even if the player is ultimately ruled out for several months, Brown has firmly stated that Saints will not renege on his deal.
That’s despite the fact that Brittain recently tried to have the pre-contract torn up because of “family reasons”, sparking a war of words between the two clubs.
Brown said: “We have acted in an honourable fashion all the way down the line and that certainly won’t change.
“I spoke with Ross County chairman Roy McGregor at the last SPL meeting and I agreed to his request to sit down with Richie face to face. Roy said the player wanted to move away from the pre-contract and asked if I would meet the player so he could, in person, explain his predicament and the personal issues that have been mentioned in the media.
“We had to see if things could be resolved or if we could reach a compromise, then take a view. But until I speak to the player, I can’t comment on why he may have had a change of heart.
“I wanted all that to be left until the final game was out of the way and league placings and the European spots were decided. That was fine by Roy.
“Right now, we don’t know the extent of the injury Richie suffered at Motherwell on Sunday but as far as we are concerned, nothing changes.
“We offered him a pre-contract in good faith, which the player signed. We certainly wouldn’t use an injury as a get-out absolutely not. That is not the way this football club operates.
“Injury is always a risk, to the player and to any club signing him on a pre-contract. We went into this with our eyes open and go about our business in a professional manner.”
Saints boss Steve Lomas preferred to let his chairman do the talking on Brittain’s pre-contract situation but the manager was keen to send a get-well message to the player.
Lomas said: “First and foremost, we wish the boy a speedy recovery. Forget about all the pre-contract issues and sub-plots that have been going on. No one wants to see a player injured, whether or not he is one of your own.
“I had a few injuries during my own playing career so you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I just hope it isn’t a bad one.”
Lomas is now focusing all his attention on this Sunday’s season finale at McDiarmid against Motherwell, with Saints’ dream of back-to-back European adventures still very much alive.
After being beaten by Celtic in last Saturday’s lunchtime game, the Perth side needed a big favour from Dundee United against their rivals for third place in the SPL, Inverness, and the depleted Tangerines came up trumps with a surprise
win in the Highlands.
Now, Lomas is keen for his players to take full advantage of the unexpected bonus.
He said: “I thought Inverness would get at least a draw so we have maybe got a wee rub of the green but I think we have earned it over the course of the season.
“We haven’t really had a lot of luck so it’s up to us to take that opportunity. Now we have to capitalise on it.
“It will not be easy as Motherwell are flying at the moment. I think they are the second best team in the league because they have more match winners than the rest of us.”
David McCracken had an operation on his knee last Friday and could be out for up to four months, although Mehdi Abeid and Chris Millar could come into contention if they manage to come through training this week unscathed.