Callum Davidson believes St Johnstone’s struggle this season could actually prove invaluable in their relegation battle.
With five bottom-six cinch Premiership fixtures remaining, Saints are five points clear of basement side Dundee and six points behind St Mirren and Aberdeen while Hibernian and Livingston are also in the bottom half of the table.
Ahead of their crunch clash with Dundee at the Kilmac stadium on Saturday, Davidson said: “I think we were five points behind Dundee at Christmas and now find ourselves in a position where we can now compete and try to finish 10th.
“First and foremost we need to try and stay away from the bottom.
“That is the first priority and then it is about trying to catch teams above us.
“We know the task ahead of us. We have been doing it since January, it is not as if this has come to us right now, where we are now finding ourselves in a relegation fight.
“We have been there for probably three months now. We have got off the bottom of the table.
“Teams above us are a little bit different, they have been quite comfortable and now are in that relegation fight so it is up to us to put pressure on them by getting three points on Saturday and pulling teams close to us.
“The players are coping really well, they are coping better.
“They were a wee bit nervy in January but I think they are coping better with it now and performances and results are starting to come.”
Davidson is definitely not vying with Dundee boss Mark McGhee in terms of personal preparation and a potential forfeit.
McGhee cause something of a stir this week when he told his players that he had gone on a diet and switched off his heating to ensure his hunger and discomfort is a constant reminder of the magnitude of Saturday’s game.
The former Scotland international then revealed his players had challenged him to go naked for a week if they got the win over the Perth men.
Davidson laughed when the issues were brought up and he said: “I tried to go on a diet but it’s not working.
“No, I haven’t really read any of it, I am focused on what we are doing and how we go about our business.
“My diet’s not working so I am definitely not going naked.”
