Good Form Has To Be Nurtured

Last updated : 27 November 2015 By ed_ScottishFitba

C:WindowsTempphp30C6.tmpTommy Wright is planning a challenge for second place in the Premiership - but the St Johnstone manager knows their winning run can be fragile if they do stay focused. The Perth side were 16 points behind Aberdeen after eight games, but will overtake the Dons into third place if they beat Tayside rivals Dundee at McDiarmid Park tonight. Saints are looking to extend their winning run to six but Wright is equally aware that teams can suffer a downturn in form in Scotland's top flight and wants to guard against it.

Wright said: "Confidence is high but we never get carried away. We know this game can change very quickly. What we have done, and it's less than halfway to the split, is give ourselves a good position to get top six and put pressure on Aberdeen and Hearts. Nobody is saying we are going to finish second but we have put ourselves in a good position to challenge. To do that we have to maintain the performances and results we have been getting because they are two very good sides and they will win more than they lose. Victory would put us eight points ahead of Dundee which is good at this stage but we keep reminding ourselves that last year Dundee United were 16 or 18 points ahead of us and we managed to pip them. We could get into third place with a win, maybe for only 24 hours, but we could do it. That's an incentive and also it's a derby and derby games are a wee bit special."

Looking back to the start of the season Wright knows Aberdeen quickly went from winning their first eight games to losing 5-1 at home to Saints. He went on: "That's how it can change so quickly, Aberdeen haven't done a lot wrong and then they lose and that can happen so quickly in this league. That's why we have to stay focused. We know if we keep doing what we are doing that we can challenge for second but we also know if we get into a bad run you can quite easily slip out of it, and it can happen so quickly." The Perth side appear to have real strength in depth this season and Wright is trying to sign more players up on extended contracts following captain Dave Mackay's new deal, in an attempt to continue the club's recent stability. Wright said: "We don't look to have to bring in seven or eight in the summer. I know that doesn't excite the fans sometimes but we plan. We are already talking to one or two who are coming out of contract and we are a wee bit down the road with those."

Saints have won five games in a row, but visitors Dundee stopped Hearts achieving that feat when they drew 1-1 at Tynecastle last weekend and manager Paul Hartley is aiming for three points at McDiarmid Park. He said: "We are going there to try to win the game. We know we are up against the form team just now, but we know on our day we are as good as anybody. And we have already shown that this year. We have probably had too many draws, but not a lot of defeats. We are hard to beat, we never give up, we show great desire. If we can get a good result we jump right into the top six. We will go there and be positive. We went to Tynecastle last week and showed we will not sit back and defend. We will go to clubs and have a go."