ST JOHNSTONE boss Callum Davidson will embark on his tenth game in management when Celtic visit McDiarmid Park. 

Following in the footsteps of Tommy Wright was always going to be tough, but Saints have been playing some stylish football under their new gaffer. 

It has been a frustrating opening nine games for Davidson though, with his side struggling to turn performances into points. 

The Perth outfit are lingering at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership with just two wins and a draw from their opening fixtures. 

But Davidson insists he will only start to panic when the chances dry up. 

"That's probably the biggest frustration for me, when we have played well we need to pick up the points,” he told Herald and Times Sport. 

“We have performed better in the majority of games but have not picked up the points and that's hard to take, really frustrating.  

“We have to take our chances and give ourselves the opportunity to win the game, at the moment we are just not taking them and either conceding poor goals or bad timing of goals.

“I still believe in what we're doing and going about our business, it's just that little bit of luck that can maybe help us get over the line and turn our good performances into victories.  

“That's the big thing or get a draw from not playing well. These are the wee things the team will improve and strive to get better at.” 

Davidson brought goalkeeper Zander Clark back into his starting line-up as Saints visited Livingston last week. 

A 2-0 defeat was not the ideal welcome back gift for Clark, but his manager was pleased to have him back in the Saints net. 

He continued: “Elliott came in and performed at a high level. But I know Zander from previous, I know how well he can play. Listen, it was a tough decision for me to bring him back in.  

“If we had won those four or five games that we lost 1-0 then Elliott would probably still be playing. That is just the reality of it, the other players would probably still be playing as well.  

“As a manager you just have to try and tinker and tweak until you get the formation that wins you games of football. Zander is going to get the opportunity to go and play for the next few games.  

“We will see how he does. If he can play to the level I know he can do, then I will be delighted.” 

Another man who could feature against Celtic is former Aberdeen midfielder Craig Bryson. 

The one-time Scotland international left Pittodrie this summer and penned a season long deal in Perth. 

“He has trained all week and trained well which is good news for me,” explained Davidson. 

“Much as I want to get him involved, and there is a strong possibility he will be involved on Sunday, I just have to be careful that I don’t overload him straight away because he is going to be a vital player for the season. 

“Likewise, Murray Davidson, he came back in last week and performed really well. I could have probably put him back in a game before but they are players I need to make sure are there for the duration.” 

On the threat of Celtic, Davidson added: "Tough team to play against. They are playing well. You have to have a little bit of luck against them and perform to a high level, getting the right balance of going after them and sitting off them. 

“It's a hard one. Hopefully, we can get that little bit of luck you need at times in the games along with hard work from my boys.” 

Danny McNamara has been the star man for St Johnstone this season after arriving on-loan from Millwall. 

And the young wing back is relishing the opportunity to test himself against the best when Scottish Premiership champions Celtic visit McDiarmid Park. 

“I’ve come on loan and I’ve come to get game time,” McNamara told Herald and Times Sport. 

“The gaffer has put trust into me and hopefully I’ve given the trust back to him and my teammates.  

“It is always good to play against decent players, it is a good test for me.  

“As a team we just look at it as another game, we don’t look at it like ‘Celtic oh my god they are a massive team’.  

“We’ll give it our all and have another step up from the Livingston game last weekend.”  

McNamara, 21, is also looking forward to coming up against fellow countryman Shane Duffy in Perth. 

He added: “It will be a good experience to play against Shane on Sunday. He's a massive character in the Ireland squad and has been in it for many years. 

"It would be good to play against him. Getting a result against Celtic would be even better. 

"I have watched Jeramie Frimpong recently too and he's a good player. Direct and very good in the final third. 

"He has an end product and he's a player I've looked at on TV and thought, 'He's decent...I can learn from him'.”