Murray in no hurry to leave Perth

Dec 6 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

MURRAY DAVIDSON yesterday insisted he will ignore speculation linking him with interest from former manager Derek McInnes.

The ex-Perth boss, now in charge at Bristol City, has made no secret of his admiration for the highly rated young midfielder he plucked from Livingston along with Dave Mackay.

And that has sparked conjecture that McInnes is contemplating a bid to lure 22-year-old Davidson to the Championship.

The Ashton Gate boss, who has hoisted his new team out of the dropzone, added fuel to the fire when he re-iterated recently that Davidson was destined to move on from Perth.

McInnes, who stressed he was still assessing his City squad, added: “I want to bring in good players so I can’t say there’s no interest whatsoever on my part.”

Davidson, who has made an immediate impact after returning from a knee injury, had a £1 million price put on his head by new McDiarmid manager Steve Lomas after starring in the 0-0 draw against Rangers. And he is under contract until the summer of 2013.

Ibrox boss Ally McCoist failed in a cheeky £250,000 bid to take him to Glasgow before the transfer deadline but McInnes, despite City reporting an £11 million loss, is likely to have the resources at his disposal if he does decide to make a move for the Scotland squad midfielder.

Davidson, who won the penalty for Dave Mackay which clinched another away win against Hearts at the weekend, maintained he won’t have his head turned by all the speculation.

He stressed: “My mate texted me about what the old gaffer had said and if managers talk favourably about you it’s got to be a compliment. He is going great guns down there but I’m concentrating on St Johnstone. That is all I can do.

“I’m used to it now after going through the Rangers speculation. It’s part and parcel of football. I would rather have people talking about me than not.

“But there is a point in everyone’s career when you want to go further.

“Every young player thinks about testing themselves in England and I’d be lying if I said I was any different. I’m not ruling it out.

“But at the moment I don’t set myself any targets. I am 100% focused on St Johnstone and any speculation isn’t for me to worry about.”

Reflecting on the weekend win inspired by Peter Enckelman’s penalty save and skipper Mackay’s converted spot-kick, Davidson said: “I was delighted to get the three points. We were under the cosh a bit in the second half but seemed to be cruising to victory after big Pete’s save and Cup Tie’s spot-kick. It was backs to the wall for the last few minutes when they scored but it was a huge result for us.

“Encks has been brilliant this season for us. He guessed right and got a strong hand to it and that helped us go on to win the game. It was a massive moment. But that is what we expect from him now.”

Davidson also flagged-up the contribution of players drafted in to cover for injuries.

He said: “The lads who have come in deserve a lot of credit. We’ve a big squad and there are boys here desperate for their chance. “

Perth fans might be licking their lips at the prospect of European football but Davidson insisted: “We’re not talking about Europe in the dressing room. Personally I take it game by game and I think the rest of the lads are the same. Think beyond the next match and you can come unstuck.”