Mackay hopes to celebrate 100 games with win

Dec 2 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

ST JOHNSTONE stalwart Dave Mackay, who will tomorrow make his 100th appearance for the club, claims his time at McDiarmid has been “better than he ever imagined”.

And the Glasgow-born defender, who scored his third goal of the season with a stunning free-kick in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Hibs, reckons his spell in Perth will only get better if fourth-placed Saints are able secure a top-six finish in the SPL this season.

Speaking to PA Sport yesterday, the 31-year-old, who signed from Livingston in July 2009, said: “I actually think it’s only been 99 starts and one appearance as a substitute.

“I’ve been pretty lucky, I had a couple of little injuries last year and I missed about six or seven games.

“But other than that I’ve pretty much been a first team regular.

“I was delighted to come to the club, it was a great chance for me to step back up to the Premier League.

“It was a good opportunity but it has went better than I ever imagined.”

The six-foot number two also took the time to praise newly appointed boss Steve Lomas for a “seamless” transition after taking over from Derek McInnes’ previous regime.

Saints’ vice-captain continued: “It’s been a great start for the manager, getting the four points in two pretty tough games.

“Obviously, it was a great point at Ibrox but it would have been worth nothing if we’d lost or drawn at home to Hibs.

“He’s come in and kept things ticking-over. It wasn’t as if anything was broken and needed majorly fixed.

“He’s such an enthusiastic guy and is pretty similar to Derek in a lot of ways and he will obviously bring in his own ideas.

“It’s been seamless so far.”

He went on: “We’re sitting fourth and we’re there on merit, we’ve had some great results. Especially our away form, it’s been exceptional.

“Our aim at the beginning of the season was to break into the top six, and we’re there just now, so we’ve just got to aim to stay there.

“And when you’re in the top six, who knows where you could finish at the end of it when you’ve still got five games to go.”

Looking forward to reaching his milestone against fifth-placed Hearts tomorrow, Mackay, who has also played for Dundee, Brechin, Arbroath and Oxford, insists Saints have an excellent chance of taking all three points.

“Hearts are only one point behind us, and it’s a tough place to go.

“But I really enjoy playing at Tynecastle, there is a good atmosphere.

“Last year we went there and beat them in the cup and we’ve beaten them at home already this season.

“We’ve got nothing to fear. It’s a game we’ll go into with a lot of confidence.”