Josh McPake: St Johnstone fringe men can help survival fight
Josh McPake believes St Johnstone's fringe men can help the Perth club in their bid to make a relegation great escape.
Saints are now six points adrift of the Premiership play-off position with just four games left, having been beaten 3-2 by Motherwell at the weekend.
McPake made his first league start for the McDiarmid Park side, producing two assists and an impressive all-round display wide on the left.
Midfielder Elliot Watt scored Saints' second goal after coming off the bench, while youngster Taylor Steven looked the part at wing-back then full-back.
'Obviously I'd much rather we won as a team,' said McPake.
'That's far more important than looking at my own performance.
'I've been ready all season for my chance and I'm just glad that the gaffer threw me in.
'Of course, it's been disappointing not to start before this. But that's football.
'You need to be ready for your chance, whenever that might come.
'Hopefully I've shown the manager what I'm capable of for the games left.
'I've been living right, and, in training, I've made sure I've been at it every day.'
The former Rangers forward added: 'Elliot scored a good goal today.
'I thought he did really well.
'Like myself, some of the other players on the fringes have been waiting for that opportunity.'
McPake remains confident that Saints' fortunes will turn over the next couple of weeks, despite the fact they were punished again on Saturday for defensive lapses.
'I thought the lads kept going until the very end out there,' he said.
'We threw everything at it, but it just wasn't enough.
'We lost the two goals in quick succession and then you can't be coming out after half-time and concede like we did.
'That wasn't good enough.
'Now we've got four very, very big games coming up.
'We'll recover, train well and go again.
'We're obviously gutted about today but we're looking to win every game.
'I see what we do in training.
'I'm a great believer that if you do everything right, the way we have as a squad every day, luck will turn your way.
'We've given ourselves a mountain to climb but we've still got belief we can do it.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Bath warrior and local hero who epitomises what rugby is built on, writes CHRIS FOY amid the threat of a breakaway league
What a time for Tom Dunn to strike a blow for rugby's cherished local heroes, just as the notions of identity and belonging are under threat from a global 'travelling circus' rebel league. The 32-year-old hooker was the heart and soul of Bath's comeback win over Bristol, propelling Johann van Graan's side to Twickenham for another shot at clinching their first Premiership title since 1996. Dunn became the poster boy of a blood-and-thunder West Country derby, with his club releasing a social media post showing his muddied, bloodied and swollen face, and the caption 'Tough to Beat'.
Belfast Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
I could have closed gap to Celtic, insists former Rangers boss Philippe Clement
Clement felt he was working on a long-term project after the board told him to cut the wage bill last summer and develop younger players to fuel future spending. But his reign ended in February after back-to-back home defeats by Queen's Park and St Mirren left them out of the Scottish Cup and 13 points adrift of Celtic in the Premiership. Russell Martin has now been installed as his permanent successor after an interim stint from Barry Ferguson and the financial backdrop has changed following a takeover by an American consortium. 'It's a pity that the story stopped, that the board didn't have the patience or maybe listened too much to some fans,' Clement told BBC Scotland. 'There are other clubs where there is a difficult moment and everybody sticks together because everybody knows the story, how the work is done inside the building, and they continue and they are successful afterwards. 'In three or four windows, we could have closed the gap with a good development of players, but the decision is made and you need to accept it.' Clement pointed out that this time last year he was told the club's spending was not sustainable 'There was not fresh investment in the club, but the money available for the transfers would be the sale of players, so the amount you can get out of that,' he added. 'That was not much at the end, because the squad was with a lot of older players. So people didn't want to pay any more for them. Six players were out of contract, so they left for free.' The Belgian added that the wage bill was cut by 35 per cent in order to rebuild the squad. 'And the idea was, and that was clearly said at the board, that the club needed three, four transfer windows to get at the level of Celtic, because you have to gain money again by bringing young players in, developing them, making them better, selling them and getting money to make the squad better and better in the next two, three years,' he added. Clement believes progress has been made in that sense with the development of the likes of Nico Raskin, Jefte, Hamza Igamane and Clinton Nsiala. 'If they say there's no new investment, I now understand why,' he said. 'Because at the end, some people were already thinking about selling the club and selling their stocks.' Clement claimed Rangers under-achieved domestically but over-achieved in the Europa League and felt some players were not ready for the demands of competing on both fronts. 'I think it's normal in the financial situation the club was, but it's not good enough,' he said. 'But you need patience then to build it or you need to spend money. It's one of the two. Without one of the two, it's an impossible job.' Clement hopes his successor gets that backing. 'I hope that there comes stability, to work in a good way with the players, with the staff, with everybody in the club, to have a consistent story,' he said. 'I think that's a big part that the club has been lacking for years and I hope that the new owners can bring that for the club and for the manager also, for the players.'
Scottish Sun
13 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Russell Martin ready to raid former club Southampton as Rangers manager makes £10m-rated midfielder top transfer target
RUSSELL FEATHERS Russell Martin ready to raid former club Southampton as Rangers manager makes £10m-rated midfielder top transfer target Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PLAYMAKER Flynn Downes is top of Russell Martin's wishlist at Rangers — but he will get no favours from his old club Southampton. Martin took Downes, 26, to the Prem with the Saints from West Ham and previously had him at Swansea. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 3 Russell Martin is eyeing a Saints midfielder who he knows well 3 Flynn Downes has played under Martin at three different clubs Downes could fancy the Scottish Prem over the Championship but the fee will be over £10million — which would be a big chunk of Martin's budget. He will be busy in the transfer market after being handed £20m to overhaul the squad and may raid England a few times. Left-back Harry Toffolo is set to quit Nottingham Forest and is interested in a switch to Ibrox after playing only a handful of games late last season. Martin will inherit Jefte and Ridvan Yilmaz as left-backs, but the Turk has been heavily linked with a return home. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS STAR'S BATTLE Michail Antonio shares footage of himself learning to walk again after crash Veteran Leicester City defender Conor Coady is also on Gers' radar. Meanwhile, Martin insists he has no plans to strip James Tavernier of the Rangers captaincy. He said: 'He's been the captain for a very long time. If he's playing, I don't see any reason to change that. And if he's not playing, it will force someone else. 'First and foremost, I want to speak to him to explain to me and have a discussion about the last two years, his thoughts on the team. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'To play here as long as he has, to be captain as long as he has, takes a lot of energy. It's not easy. 'It will be down to him in the way he performs and the way he buys into it, which I'm pretty sure he will.' Rangers fans react to news Russell Martin is their new manager
