Road trip to Perth could be a classic, says Lennon

Oct 4 2012 by Paul Behan, Paisley Daily Express

Danny Lennon reckons Saturday’s trip to Perth to play St Johnstone is shaping up to be an SPL cracker.

Lennon has been mightily impressed with St Johnstone’s current form after Steve Lomas’ side posted four consecutive wins from their last four outings.

But the Buddies boss plans to put their brakes on the Perth side’s charge up the SPL table come the weekend.

He said: “I thought they’ve always been close games against St Johnstone, although they beat us at our own patch last season.

“But Steve Lomas has done very well up there and he’s assembled a very strong squad.

“Outwith the bigger clubs, I think St Johnstone have one of the best squads in the division – in terms of quality and the depth within it.

“They have spent wisely and brought a great deal of players in there, so good luck to Steve for trying to keep them all happy!

“But that’s four back-to-back victories for them and that shows good form.

“But we have won three out of our last four games, so it’s got the makings of a very good game.”

Lennon revealed how he’ll continue to seek the untapped wealth of talent within his squad.

He raised some eyebrows at the weekend when he used defensive midfield ace Jim Goodwin as the corner kick taker in the thrilling 5-4 SPL win over Ross County.

And with the recent arrival of left full-back Paul Dummett to the club from Newcastle United, it enabled him to play Irishman Graham Carey in a more advanced position on the left side of midfield.

Those modest changes to the side on Saturday paid a rich dividend as it was Goodwin’s corner which led to St Mirren’s first goal, scored before the break by Steven Thompson.

And with Carey in a more advanced position, the Irishman was able to deliver the cross which ultimately led to the winning last-gasp goal, scored quite spectacularly by hero striker Thompson.

As a result, Lennon intends to leave no stone unturned in his search to make his Buddies a more versatile outfit.

He said: “You look for that quality from throughout your squad and we’ve all seen what Jim can do in a dead-ball situation.

“It works for us, so we’ll use every tool we can.

“And with Graham Carey, he’s renowned for putting quality balls into the opposition box.

“The quality of goals that we managed to score on Saturday was pleasing and that’s down to hard work on the training pitch on a daily basis.

“The way they we go about their business is terrific because we’re all on the same journey and everyone is buying into our philosophy.”