Smith ready for Tannadice trip

Jan 26 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

KEEPER Graeme Smith yesterday insisted Saints have already licked their wounds and are ready to tackle Dundee United in a Tannadice derby date tomorrow night.

Smith performed heroics against Celtic as 10-man Saints succumbed to a second-half onslaught in a 4-1 defeat.

But the keeper will join the rest of the Perth squad going over the tape of the game in forensic detail, crediting manager Derek McInnes and coach Tony Docherty with a methodical approach to their trade.

He stressed: “ We just need to dust ourselves for Dundee United, which is a big game. Sunday has been and gone and we can’t afford any hangover.

“We know our league is the bottom six and anything you take off Celtic and Rangers is a bonus.

“That’s not to say we aren’t looking to win against them. But the important thing is taking points off the teams around us in the table.

“And the next three games will have a major bearing on where we end up this season. Tannadice is a big one and so is Hearts at the weekend.

“The games are coming thick and fast now and we need to be ready for that. And the best way to get over Celtic is to go to Tannadice and get three points.”

Smith, a summer signing from Rangers, said: “I always analyse my performance, whether I’ve had to make 20 saves in games or two.

“The sending off played a major part in the outcome because it’s very difficult to hold a lead with 10 men against a quality side like Celtic.

“I thought we did really well in the first-half. We were more than holding our own. But after Garts went off it was always going to be an uphill struggle.

“They went from having two or three chances first-half to the point where I lost count of the number they created.

“And once they equalised they had a lot more of the ball. It felt like we were having to withstand waves of attacks. We just couldn’t contain them.

“But if we’d kept 11 men on the park I think we’d have been more than capable of taking it on.

“As Falkirk and Hamilton have proved there’s not that big a gap between the Old Firm and the rest over 90 minutes.

“Obviously come the end of the season they’ll no doubt be 15-20 points ahead of everybody else but in one-off games you can get the better of them.”