THE Specials' Ghost Town seemed a fitting musical post-script as it rang round McDiarmid Park at the conclusion of St Johnstone's low-key goalless friendly against York City of England's League Two yesterday, but manager Tommy Wright and his players hope to be spurred on by a much more spirited atmosphere in their stadium on Thursday night.
The return of the 8,000-strong crowds that took in the home legs of the Perth club's Europa League qualifying adventures against Rosenborg and Dinamo Minsk 12 months ago could be a significant difference-maker in whether they can capitalise on last week's 1-1 first-leg draw in Switzerland with an FC Luzern side who by all accounts look a more accomplished team than either of those two.
"It would be great to get a crowd like that again," said defender Tam Scobbie, a veteran of last year's run, as well as an unhappier Europa League venture with Falkirk against Liechtenstein's FC Vaduz, who also play in the Swiss league system.
"First and foremost, it would be great financially, but I think everyone who was at the Rosenborg game remembers the atmosphere, the jubilation and congratulations we received at the final whistle.
"Hopefully we can get more of the same. It is going to be a difficult game, we know that and I am sure our fans will realise it too, particularly the 1,000 or so who travelled to Switzerland. But when we get a crowd of 8000 or 9000 in here it makes you feel better, like you have that extra man. If they could come out in those numbers again it would be much appreciated."
The good news for any Saints fans who are still swithering over attending Thursday's match is that Stevie May, the club's talismanic striker, will be fit to play. The Scotland under-21 player spent the first match on the bench as he nursed a thigh injury.
He was rested again yesterday, but Wright will unleash him against a Luzern side which finished fourth in the Swiss league last season, and were good enough on their travels to win 3-0 in Basel.
Centre-half Steven Anderson, one of the scorers in last season's Scottish Cup final triumph, remains sidelined by a hamstring injury meaning Dave MacKay and Frazer Wright seem likely to continue in central defence. "I didn't see the point in playing Stevie May today to be honest," Wright said. "But he is fit, he didn't need the run-out. He will play [on Thursday], he is ready to go. Hopefully he will help us cause them a few more problems.
"Anyone who was at the first leg will see they are a threat but I feel we will have a bit more about us in terms of going forward, and give them more to worry about. Even if the tie stays at 1-1 then we go through.
"The atmosphere for the Rosenborg game in particular last year was incredible and if we can get 8,000 or 9,000 fans in here again then that could be a huge help."
Wright rested all of those who started the European match but Scobbie - along with Michael O'Halloran, one of only two established outfield first-team squad members playing yesterday - was grateful for his first full 90 minutes in around four months. The defender was used as a late substitute at the end of the match in Switzerland.
"The way Luzern moved the ball, pressed and interchanged made it difficult for us to settle," Scobbie said. "But once we got the goal it made a hell of a difference.
"Alan Mannus had a couple of world-class saves, and they hit the bar and the post, but as a whole the squad was great over there and for Liam Caddis and Scott Brown to come in and do so well says a lot for them. It was good to get 90 minutes today and if called upon I am ready to go."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article