TOMMY Wright yesterday warned his St Johnstone players to beware of the new Dundee striker David Clarkson.
The one-time Motherwell player was on trial with the Perth club recently but Wright decided instead to bring in Brian Graham on loan from Dundee United.
"David was in for about two weeks and played in Steven Anderson's testimonial," said Wright. "In the early stages of his time we weren't in a position to sign anyone, and David was fully aware of that. Then Brian became available and I felt he would be a better option for us in terms of his age and how hungry he was.
"That's the road we went down. He's had a really good career though, and we saw his qualities in training. If he plays, we'll have to be aware of him. It's my first game against Dundee as manager.
"The thing about Dundee and United games is there will be a decent crowd, and that helps the players. It doesn't put an extra edge on it for me personally, though - it's another three points."
Wright has been impressed with Dundee's start to the season. "It's difficult when you bring so many new players in, but Paul Hartley has signed players with experience of the league. To have that start after bringing in so many, Paul will be delighted. I've watched them against Kilmarnock, and they were really good. But I think it's been over-looked or taken for granted the start that we've made. Last year it took us to eight or nine games to get to our current points total. We've made a better start in terms of points on the board and we're looking to build on that."
Hartley said he will play Clarkson in his preferred No.9 jersey. The former Motherwell striker spent the two seasons at Bristol Rovers where he was used more as a left-sided attacker
"I see him as a main attacker, in the same role he had at Motherwell," said Hartley. "He's got a good goal-ratio to games. It's about 60-odd goals in 250 games. He knows the league pretty well so we do see him as a main attacker.
"He is a player I know pretty well from my time at Bristol City [the club Clarkson joined from Motherwell]. He is a little bit rusty in terms of his sharpness but he is a fit lad anyway. He will be in the squad for the game at St Johnstone, so it's another good option for us."
Hartley, like Wright was quick to praise their opponents. "They've had good success over the years," he said. "They're a good hard-working team. They lost their star player in Stevie May but they work really hard as a team and have got good quality about them.
"Any St Johnstone game you go into, you know you are always in for a tough 90 minutes."
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