St Johnstone pride needed to face Clyde

Mar 25 2008

DEREK McInnes will have a morning roll call before listing his team to face Clyde tonight.

A demanding workload has taken its toll on the Perth squad and once again physio Nick Summersgill is operating a treatment room shift system.

Martin Hardie, Daniel McBreen and Stuart McCaffrey are still sidelined. But after title aspirations took a battering at Firhill, McInnes is resigned to losing Peter MacDonald (groin) and Rocco Quinn (hamstring), while Jody Morris has been given leave of absence for the birth of his latest child.

Goran Stanic remains a doubt and the latest on Andy Lawrie is that he has had neck surgery, while Jamie McCluskey is preparing for a broken bone in his foot to be pinned.

McInnes, who will match-up against former Rangers colleagues John Brown, Andy Goram and Jorg Albertz this evening at McDiarmid, would have freshened-up his team anyway after their recent commitments. And the lure of a cup semi-final should ensure his players don’t down tools.

“It has been demanding and we have a decent squad when everyone is fit. There is an opportunity here for players to make an impression,” said McInnes.

“There is still a lot to play for and lads can come in a prove a point. I’m really excited about the Clyde game and hope the boys are the same.

“Sure we were down and disappointed at the weekend with the result but the players put in a terrific effort on a pitch that was quite ridiculous. There is no point trying to hide from that fact. I know the rugby brings in finance but it will have to re-addressed for next season. I feel sorry for Thistle playing on that surface.

“I was disappointed with the result but not the application. It was impossible to play football but we don’t have the players available to be more direct and go back to front.”

McInnes revealed that with Morris expecting his partner to give birth, the English midfielder had been excused duty.

He said: “Jody is in London. I just felt it would be taking a liberty asking him to hang on for this game when his wife is due on the day of the match. His attitude has been great and he has been mixing well with the boys. I didn’t want to leave it to chance and have him missing the birth on my conscience.

“Obviously there will be changes, with Rocco coming off with a hamstring problem against Thistle.”

Kevin Moon, David Weatherston and loan pair Greg Cameron and Barry Wilson come into contention for starts, but kids could pad out the bench.

McInnes said: “It is important we don’t flag between now and the end of the season. We have the cup semi-final next month and I want to make sure we win our last four home games.

“Clyde are battling for their lives and I know a few of the lads from my time at Ibrox.

“Everyone knows the danger Jorg presents from anywhere within 35 yards and he still has plenty of quality.”

Striker Steven Milne yesterday absolved Andy Jackson of blame for his last-gasp miss at Firhill and backed the youngster to bounce back with more goals before the end of the season.

He said: “Obviously Jacko will be disappointed but it won’t be a problem for him. He has had a great season for us.

“Clyde had a poor result at the weekend, losing 4-1 to Queen of the South. They will be up for it because of their situation in the league but we have to protect our undefeated home record.

“I felt low after the Thistle game. It was never going to be a classic on that surface but we had to keep winning and see what happened. The damage was done early in the season and since I came to Perth we’ve never established ourselves at the top for any length of time. We have to be more consistent.”

DETAILS of ticket arrangements for the Scottish Cup semi-final will emerge later in the week. It has been moved from April 13 to April 20 at Hampden.