CALLUM DAVIDSON has revealed that St Johnstone are close to agreeing contract extensions with “two or three” first team players.
Twelve McDiarmid Park recruits, including the likes of Guy Melamed, Stevie May, Chris Kane and Craig Bryson, are out of contract in the summer and Glenn Middleton and James Brown will return to their parent clubs following the end of their loan deals.
Davidson had previously voiced his concerns about clubs coming in for some of his League Cup winners, but ahead of Wednesday night’s match against Rangers, the Perth boss gave a positive update on contract talks.
Asked how discussions were panning out, Davidson explained: “It’s pretty good, two or three are pretty close to agreeing.
“We are working on a few more and it’s still ongoing all the time. There are a lot of positive signs there and I’d like to think after this week we’ll have some good news.”
Saints face a double header against Premiership champions Rangers this week, with a league clash at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday coming before a Scottish Cup quarter-final clash at Ibrox on Sunday.
Despite Steven Gerrard’s side being unbeaten in the league this term, Davidson has seen glimpses that his own team could be in line to cause an upset.
He joked: “What do we need to do? We need Rangers to have an off day, we get a bit of luck to score in the 91st minute then the whistle blows!
“Seriously, though, I think we have conceded goals at bad times against them this season in the three games so far.
“We have allowed them to score cheap goals from giving away poor free-kicks so we need to eradicate that from our game.
“There are wee things we can do to put pressure on them but we know it’s going to be tough. We are playing with confidence, we work hard from the front and that has allowed the defenders to step in and make better decisions.
“If you lose that intensity at the front of the pitch then it makes it harder for defenders so it’s about the whole team as a unit.
“We have been pretty good most of the season and if we can continue doing that, not give cheap goals away, then hopefully we can get something.”
As a former full-back himself, Davidson has been particularly impressed by Ibrox youngster Nathan Patterson.
The 19-year-old has fitted in seamlessly since Rangers club captain James Tavernier picked up an injury back in February and Davidson reckons he could be in line for a Scotland call-up soon.
He continued: “Even if Steven Gerrard has a few injuries, he still has a very strong squad to pick from.
“You just need to look at young Nathan Patterson. It’s a credit to him that they haven’t really missed James Tavernier, who has been the best player in Scotland.
“It’s funny. When you go back to my time there was maybe a lack of left-backs in the Scottish national team. Now we’ve got loads of top-quality left-backs and the right side is more of an issue.
“If he can keep developing, we’ve got a very good right-sided defender coming through to join the players who are in that position just now.
“I don’t know [if he will make the Euros]. It will be interesting to see how many games he plays for the rest of the season. He’s certainly not done his cause any harm with his recent performances.”
Craig Conway missed St Johnstone’s fourth round match up with Clyde on Saturday and Davidson confirmed that the former Dundee United man could be missing for this week too.
On the injury front, he added: “Craig had to pull out of training with a groin strain last week so we’ll have to see with him. If he doesn’t make it hopefully he will be back for Sunday.
“Murray Davidson is good, he’s been running the last few weeks and hopefully he’ll be back training next week. It’s all positive and it will be good to get him back before the end of the season.”
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