Virus-hit Saints cancel training ahead of Celtic clash

Published on 14/09/2012 03:09

ST JOHNSTONE manager Steve Lomas faces an anxious wait to see what sort of team he can field for the visit of Celtic in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League tomorrow after seven players were hit by a virus.

Saints had been due to train at 
Stirling University yesterday morning but, after fielding calls from ill players at the campus, the Northern Irishman called off the session.

Lomas will have a roll call in this morning but any withdrawals are bound to have an effect on a side struggling at the bottom of the SPL table with two points from five games.

“We’ve had to cancel training this morning because there are six or seven players down with a bug,” he said yesterday.

“We will see how things are tonight and tomorrow. It’s a blow, no doubt about that but we can’t do much about it other try to minimise the risk of it spreading. Our club doctor is heavily involved in helping with that.”

A game against the champions, who have been buoyed by their progress through to the group stages of the Champions League, is not the sort of fixture Lomas would want to go into without a full-strength side.

However, the former Manchester City and West Ham United midfielder claims his side’s poor start to the season can, in part, be put down to the Perth club being handed tough fixtures to begin their league campaign, in addition to wastefulness in front of goal.

“You could argue that the teams we have played, if you add Celtic on Saturday, will probably be a close shout to be the top six, if you are looking at resources,” he said. “We have been away to Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell, we have had Dundee United and Aberdeen at home and Celtic on Saturday.

“I can’t remember a tougher start for anybody but I am happy that, if we keep performing like we have done, then we will start picking up wins.

“Apart from the Aberdeen game I have been happy with the performances. There were three or four players missing against Aberdeen, so there were reasons for that.

“I would be the first to criticise them but, at the end of the day, it is very hard for me to criticise after the performances we have had. We got wins last season playing worse than we have done this season.

“But there is no two ways about it, we have to be more clinical in front of goal.

“We have not taken our chances which has been a key element, certainly against Motherwell, Hibs and Dundee United.

“If we had taken our chances we would have won those games and so that’s where we are at, we need to be a bit more clinical.”