Latest news with #DreyWright
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Dundee favourites to sign Wright
Dundee are favourites to sign midfielder Drey Wright, 30, following his departure from St Johnstone. (Courier - subscription required), externalRead Saturday's Scottish gossip
The Courier
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
EXCLUSIVE: Drey Wright leaves St Johnstone and Dundee frontrunners to sign him
Drey Wright has decided to leave St Johnstone – and Dundee are the frontrunners to sign him. Courier Sport understands the 30-year-old informed Saints today that he won't be accepting their offer of a new contract. The Englishman has had two spells at McDiarmid Park, both of them successes. He was one of the players who could hold their head up high after a disastrous season, which culminated in relegation to the Championship. Ironically, the ankle injury which ruled Wright out for the last few games of the campaign, was one of the final nails in Saints' coffin. As is the case across the board for players and management, significant pay cuts have kicked in for life in the second tier. And Wright, a free agent, has had several top-flight sides interested in securing his services for the 2025/26 season. It is understood Dundee were showing a strong interest when Tony Docherty was in charge at Dens Park and that remains the case even though the Dark Blues are currently without a manager. They are the favourites to secure his signature. Saints have signed three players already – defenders Jack Baird and Morgan Boyes from Morton and Raith Rovers forward, Jamie Gullan. Sven Sprangler, out of contract like Wright, accepted fresh terms on a two-year contract earlier this week.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
St Johnstone v Dundee: Team news
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari expects to be selecting from an unchanged squad, with Jonathan Svedberg (hamstring), Zach Mitchell (hamstring), Drey Wright (ankle), Bozo Mikulic (knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) still are again without Jordan McGhee and Ethan Ingram.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Relegation has been at least four seasons in the making'
We asked for your views on St Johnstone's 2-1 defeat against what some of you said:Dunc: Not a lot you can say about the way it has all ended. Radical surgery required, and Simo Valakari must be allowed at least one window going forward. There should not be many on the retained list, and perhaps only Graham Carey and Drey Wright offered new deals. The rest released or contracts terminated and loanees, thanked and returned to their parent clubs. Gutted, but we knew it was coming. The last three seasons were a shambles. We would, at times, have been hard pressed to beat a Sunday League pub Again, the simple answer is that Valakari should not be allowed to continue in the Championship. His team selection could at best be described as eccentric, and playing out from the back has been a notable failure and tested to destruction. Beyond that, the 3981 miles between Atlanta, Georgia and Perth has been allowed to become too great structurally by the new owners. They have not committed enough attention to the executive dimension of the club. Although in mitigation, the deterioration reaches back into the later days of the Brown regime. Relegation has been at least four seasons in the There's never been a better time to remember the 2021 cup double and reflect on how good a month May has been to us recently, what a fantastic high to measure the lows This game was a repeat of many others, Saints start well, look the better team, but lack that cutting edge. Then, poor defensive play or individual mistakes give goals away, and they are left chasing the game. I hope Simo stays, he brings positivity and a clear way of playing, we just need to overhaul the squad and start building for a promotion We have the right man in place. A busy few days ahead weeding out the unwanted players and keeping the ones we'll need. Hopefully, plans are already in place for a few much-needed signings. The Saints will rise This is down to Craig Levein, playing inexperienced goalkeepers, whose mistake at the start of the season probably cost six points. Also loss of two key central defenders left that part of the team decimated. Keep Simo, rebuild and look for an immediate return to the Premiership next season.
The Courier
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
St Johnstone strikers need to be first line of defence, says Kirk
St Johnstone's defensive injury crisis is well documented. The back four which kept Celtic at bay and put together a run of six clean-sheets in 10 games has been ripped apart by injury, with key men Drey Wright and Zach Mitchell joining Bozo Mikulic on the sidelines. Makenzie Kirk's primary role in the Saints team is scoring goals, which will give the Perth side a chance of a great escape at the bottom of the Premiership. But he also believes the attackers need to be the first line of defence and take as much pressure as possible off their makeshift backline. 'We've had quite a few injuries in the last few weeks at the back,' said Kirk, who will lead the line against Kilmarnock on Saturday. 'It started with Bozo's injury in training, which was a tough one for him and the boys. 'Drey has been so consistent this year. 'It's been a blow losing him because he gives you that experience in the backline and can play higher up the pitch or off the side. 'Then we lost Zach after he'd been doing so well. 'It's obviously been pretty hard to cope with. 'But we have to move on. 'There are boys capable of playing out of position back there. 'And it's important we defend from the front. 'Defending comes through the whole team, making sure we focus on that job.' Saints haven't been able to apply pressure on a team above them in the relegation battle. That has to change now, with second bottom Ross County visiting McDiarmid Park next weekend. 'It's important thing is to keep that gap at a minimum,' said Kirk. 'The moment it starts to open up, we've got a mountain to climb. 'So, we just need to keep believing and doing the right things and get the results. 'Naturally, the boys are going to feel the pressure. There are four games left of the season. 'But we are taking it a game at a time. The most important thing right now is to focus on Killie and make sure we do the right things. 'We're at home, we'll have the crowd behind us, and we need to take advantage of that. 'The boys want three points and to then be looking on to next week and hopefully getting another result. 'It's about focusing throughout the 90 minutes on doing the right things to get the three points.' Kirk, of course, has dad Andy, who is on the Perth coaching staff, to lean on during high stakes spells of the season such as this post-split run-in. 'My dad being around as a coach has helped me a lot in terms of getting the most out of me,' said the Northern Ireland under-21 international. 'He might be a wee bit hard on me at times, but I've always had that from a young age. 'I know that he's always going to get the best out of me. 'He's making sure that I'm doing the right things – on and off the pitch. That I'm living right, making sure that when I'm training, I am training at the highest standard I can. 'He's constantly on at me and I'm very grateful for that because it's something a lot of people within the game don't have. 'He knows me inside out, so he'll always know if I'm even a little bit below it. 'He knows what he's talking about. You've got to listen – because, at the end of the day, what he's saying is right.'
