BY now the problem which faces St Johnstone is well-known, it is only a solution that is a little harder to identify.

It was obliged to wear a veil on Saturday evening as Tommy Wright remarked only that he will assess "a trialist" this week having acknowledged previously that his St Johnstone squad is in need of another striker. It is the prerogative of the football manager not to name the players who interest him most, albeit the practice can often appear as though they are not arriving on trial but being taken into witness protection.

St Johnstone have scored just five times this season - drawing a blank in four of their league matches thus far, including a defeat by Dundee United on Saturday - with Steven MacLean responsible for three of those goals. A knee problem and subsequent operation mean that his tally will not be augmented until next year. Any discomfort the striker feels at the moment is rivalled by that of his side too, since St Johnstone have won just once in his absence, a League Cup tie against Kilmarnock decided by a solitary goal.

Wright's trialist is obliged to operate as a target for crosses, but also for speculation. There was some conjecture last week that Emile Heskey might be approached but this was debunked immediately; as a former England internationalist his wage demands would still be high, while his recent scoring record is unlikely to get him a start ahead of Brian Graham or Michael O'Halloran. The latter led the line at Tannadice at the weekend, with his energy producing only a shot against a post following a moment of hapless defending.

Such endeavour drew praise from Wright, as did the abridged enterprise of substitute Adam Morgan, yet the coach continued to speak highly of both on-loan United striker Graham and MacLean by acknowledging how much they were both missed. "We are missing guys who can get us a goal and are losing sloppy goals as well, so that's not a good combination," added Frazer Wright, the St Johnstone defender. "We know that if we put the ball up to Macca [Steven MacLean] then it will stay up there and the way we are playing just now, we are probably a wee bit lost without him."

United are quite aware of where they are, since they survey the rest of the SPFL Premiership from the top of the league table. Saturday brought a sixth league win of the campaign and the Tannadice side has risen so impressively that they may yet be entered in the semi-finals of the Great British Bake Off.

This is a team bereft of its most arresting talent from last term but which has added a greater resolve, a more direct style of play having proven to be similarly enthralling since it has taken the club top. United would test the patience of their supporters on Saturday more than St Johnstone's defence, although the main focus remained on the acquisition of three points and the novelty of their second goal. "I feel I can get one or two a season," said Paul Paton, the scorer and a player whose most prolific campaigns were marked by just three strikes while at Queen's Park and later at Partick Thistle.

The United mifielder was able to tease himself about his contribution given that his side have must been left to entertain themselves at the top of the table, with Inverness Caledonian Thistle losing to drop down into third place. Such a haughty league position invites teams to dismiss the odd lapse with a wry remark and Jackie McNamara, the United manager, acknowledged that his players had been "solid enough" against St Johnstone. His quiet smile excused Callum Morris' comical clearance which allowed O'Halloran a shot and the fankle in which the defender had found himself earlier when he poked the ball out for a corner when approached by Paton.

The midfielder reflected only that his feels that his side have strengthened over the summer. "The manager has brought in Callum and Jaroslaw [Fojut] to improve us at the back, and Mario [Bilate] has improved us up front as well," Paton added.

St Johnstone will hope to make a similar remark, should he pronounce the name of a new signing.