Stevie May tied his hair back and confessed he had not been looking his best.
The striker was referring to his recent form for St Johnstone rather than his general appearance, of course, a relative dip in some of his performances on the pitch having contributed to a decision to rest the 21-year-old for much of a win against St Mirren on Wednesday night. The Perth side won 1-0.
May was sent on from the bench for the final few minutes and so was unable to make much of an impact on the game. The only impression he made was that of a footballer fighting off the effects of a chilly Perthshire wind. His side will hope that a rest can allow the Scotland under-21 striker to breeze through the visit of Partick Thistle this afternoon.
It was just the second league match this season that May has not been picked in the starting XI for St Johnstone and he is agitating to resume his place in attack in Perth today. "It has been a while since I haven't started a match. I have played a lot of games this season," said the striker, who has scored 22 goals this term. "I have also had Scotland under-21 games so it has been a long, long season for me. I think a rest will be beneficial.
"I felt over the last couple of weeks that I wasn't maybe as sharp as I had been in previous games. There has been a lot of Saturday-Tuesday or Saturday-Wednesday games for me which do take their toll, maybe without you really realising it. I would never say I wouldn't play because I was tired or anything like that but I trust the gaffer [Tommy Wright] and the rest should help."
He has found further incentive in the return of Wright to McDiarmid Park after the manager missed wins over Hibernian and St Mirren as a result of gallbladder surgery. The Perth side instead have concerns over the fitness of Gary McDonald and Tim Clancy, although Brian Easton returns from a hamstring strain.
Partick Thistle have been hindered more by a pain the backside; the Glasgow side unable to pull away from the battle to avoid the relegation play-off place this season. Thistle are 10th in the SPFL Premiership and just two points ahead of St Mirren ahead of today's fixtures.
The thought of returning to the Championship after just one season in the top flight has proven hard for Kris Doolan to countenance, though. "I think we've got a good chance of safety," said the Thistle striker. "We're always looking up the way and I think we can do well against the teams round about us. We worked hard to get back up to the Premiership and we don't want it to be over after one season.
"This is a club that deserves to be in the top flight. Everything about it deserves to be in the Premier League and we're trying as hard as we can to keep them in the Premier League."
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