Davidson: St Johnstone have nothing to lose against Celtic

St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson accepts that his side are underdogs when they face Celtic in the League Cup semi-final but says they can take confidence form last season’s success.

The Perth side pulled off a historic double winning both domestic cups against the odds but go into the last four of the Premier Sports clubs with little expectation from outside McDiarmid Park.

Davidson was relaxed about facing Ange Postecoglou’s side, suggesting the pressure was all on the opposition.

He said: “You are in the semi-final of a cup, yes Celtic are the firm favourites, and so they should be, but we’ve got nothing to lose.

“We’ve played well there, we’ve won trophies at that stadium so you go there and try to win the game.

“We’re the underdogs. If Celtic win, everybody says ‘that is what is expected’ but if we win, it is another phenomenal achievement.”

There was a blow for the Saints boss though, with two attacking figures injured ahead of Saturday’s game at the national stadium.

Striker Stevie May has been ruled out until Christmas with a knee injury, while Glenn Middleton is likely to be missing with a hamstring complaint sustained while playing for Scotland Under-21s.

Davidson said: “Stevie suffered a knee injury in training so he’s going to be out for a while, probably up until Christmas. That’s a blow for us because we want good competition for places and he’s someone who either plays with energy or comes off the bench with energy.

“He’s going to be sorely missed. I’m gutted to lose him because he was just coming into a bit of form.

“Glenn is struggling. I was cursing at the television when I saw him limp off. It’s a slight hamstring injury. He’s been in getting assessed today and hopefully it’s not as bad as first feared, but I think Saturday will come too soon for him, which, again, is a blow.”

The manager is hoping for good news from goalkeeper Zander Clark. The 29-year-old is about to enter the last six months of his contract and will be free to speak to other clubs but St Johnstone have tabled a new deal that’s the best the club can offer.

Davidson said: “We know that the way Zander has performed and with him getting into the Scotland squad, there’s going to be interest in him. We’ve put the best offer we can to him.

“Zander knows what I think of him. Sometimes it isn’t about money, it’s about other situations. I’m hopeful that Zander will sign, but I know there will be other teams interested. That’s just unfortunately what happens when you’re successful like we were last season.

“It can have a knock-on effect that way, but I’m glad I’ve got people looking at my players rather than having nobody interested in them at all.”