St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes will have field a side against table-toppers Hamilton without Daniel McBreen after the striker had to have a second injection aimed at curing inflammation behind his knee. However, McInnes may find a place for midfielder Rocco Quinn, who has returned from Celtic for a second loan spell. Quinn has not started a match since Saints' Boxing Day clash with Stirling Albion. The Perth club wanted to make Quinn's move permanent but were put off by the size of the fee being looked for by Celtic. Quinn, though, showed up well from the bench against Queen of the South, after a 90-minute run out for the Scotland Under-21s in Portugal. Steven Anderson will play his final match before beginning a two-game ban.
Hamilton boss Billy Reid may field James McArthur, who suffered a broken nose against Dunfermline, and he will play wearing a protective mask if selected. Mark McLaughlin returns from suspension but Start Taylor (ankle) remains sidelined. Reid has urged his players to break their St Johnstone hoodoo and take another step towards the title. Although Hamilton have beaten Saints already this season, they haven't won in Perth since March 2005. Reid hopes to shatter that poor record, and says his side have nothing to fear from anybody in the league if they are on peak form. He said: "The next four games are tricky for us, and I only like to take it a game at a time. We go to St Johnstone on Saturday, we know how big a test that will be, but I've said to the players that if they're all on their mettle like that it will take a good team in this league to beat them. It's a place where, in management with Hamilton Accies, I haven't done particularly well, and it's another step in the development of this club that we have to go to places like St Johnstone, play the way we can play and stand up to them physically, because they're a big, strong side."
And congratulations are in order for Accies winger Mark Gilhaney who made his 100th appearance for his side in last weekend's win against Dunfermline. Gilhaney joined the club in the summer of 2005 and has been part of the team's success since then. He now joins Alex Neil and James McArthur as members of the Accies "100 Club". Gilhaney has recaptured his best form recently and will be an important part of the team as they do their best to gain promotion to the top flight. | Editor
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