Swanson’s mission to rediscover Perth spirit
DANNY Swanson has urged his St Johnstone team-mates to turn back the clock in their bid to secure another top-six finish.
The winger helped steer Saints to fourth place and the Europa League during an impressive loan spell from Coventry City last term.
But Tommy Wright’s side have been erratic this season, with just one victory in their last 13 games and a normally reliable defence leaking goals. Swanson, who made a permanent switch from Hearts before deadline day, revealed that a team meeting boosted dressing-room morale after last week’s 2-1 defeat to Partick Thistle at McDiarmid Park.
And now he insists the Perth men have to tap into the spirit of last season for tonight’s visit of Inverness if Caley Thistle aren’t to leap frog them into sixth place in an increasingly congested mid-table.
‘We have to defend better as a team,’ said Swanson. ‘We’ve been going behind in games over the last few weeks. That’s been a problem for us.
‘We got together and spoke about it at a video meeting, so hopefully that will change. A few of the boys had their say.
‘We watched the first half of the Thistle defeat. They went up the park and scored with their first attack. It was the same old story, conceding an early goal and chasing the game again.
‘To be fair, we came out of the meeting in a positive frame of mind. We had a good session after it.
‘I try to watch every game back anyway and a few of the other lads do as well. When you sit down and watch it as a group, a few things come out that you might have missed.
‘Little things are causing us problems and we’re being punished. Maybe we are going long when we should be playing shorter passes.
‘But it’s not just a question of losing goals, we have to be scoring at the other end.’
Swanson can’t believe Saints have gone behind in their last eight matches. Last term their defence was rock solid.
‘We haven’t got the first goal in any game since I came back here,’ he said. ‘I know from before we are a team who are strong when we get in front. We know how to defend a lead.
‘That has to be the aim against Inverness. Get the first goal and take it from there.’
John Hughes’ side are breathing down Saints’ necks but Swanson i nsisted: ‘I haven’t been looking at the league table.
‘I know we’re still in the top six but we just have to win the next game rather than look any further ahead.
‘I watched Inverness against Hibs in the Scottish Cup quarter-final and they’re a good footballing side. We need to stop them playing, keep a clean sheet and get goals ourselves.
‘Playing against St Johnstone, t eams knew we’d be in their faces for 90 minutes. We have to get back to that. Apart from the Aberdeen game (a 1-1 draw last month), we haven’t been up to that for some reason.
‘We have to get back to being a unit that’s hard to beat.
‘It’s gone all right for me since coming back but I can do better. I am looking to score goals now. But results are more important. It’s not nice coming into a dressing room after being beaten.’
While Swanson seeks the return of Saints’ battling spirit, Gary Warren f eels Caley Thistle have already rediscovered theirs after forcing a replay with Hibs in Sunday’s Cup clash.
Inverness have also been erratic following a season which saw them win the Scottish Cup and finish third in the league.
Victory tonight would cap something of a renaissance, taking them back to sixth and leapfrogging hosts Saints on goal difference with a game in hand.
‘We have shown the passing side to our game but, against Hibs, there was far more of the Caley Thistle we’re used to — hunting in packs, working as a team and grinding out a result,’ said skipper Warren. ‘If the game had g one a nother 10 minutes we’d have snatched it. We can play teams off the park, but may b e that extra bite has been missing t he last few games. ‘We have to go down to Perth and get a result. We ’ v e set standards now and need to keep hitting them until the end of the season. It is not about any of the other
sides.’