Lomas’ desire to keep key players may hinge on Saints’ bid for European spot

STEVE Lomas hopes St Johnstone can claim a European berth which will enable him to keep his squad intact next season and retain strikers Francisco Sandaza and Cillian Sheridan, while he is also keen to sign free agent Derek Riordan.

Saints can go three points clear of Dundee United in fourth place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with victory at Inverness tonight. Manager Lomas knows a strong finish could prove crucial in his bid to secure a new contract for in-demand Sandaza and to sign on-loan CSKA Sofia front man Sheridan on a permanent deal.

Lomas said: “I still haven’t given up hope of re-signing Fran; I’d love to sign him and Cilly. If we can push up the league and get some more money, maybe getting into Europe will go towards getting them to stay.

“To qualify for Europe would be unbelievable, but there’s a long, long way to go. I’d like to think the lads have enjoyed their football this year. I’ve certainly enjoyed managing them. They’re a great bunch of boys.

“There’s no doubt that team spirit and togetherness have played a part this season. Team spirit is very hard to build and when you’ve got a nice little mix of players like I’ve got you want to try to keep them together.”

Sandaza and Sheridan could soon be joined by Riordan, the third-highest scorer in SPL history behind Kris Boyd and Henrik Larsson. The ex-Hibernian and Celtic forward, a free agent after a short spell at Chinese Super League side Shaanxi Chanba, trained with Saints last week and Lomas is keen to do a deal. He added: “There’s no doubt I would like to sign Derek Riordan. It’s about whether we can finance it. Derek is looking to get somewhere until the end of the season and maybe look to assess things going forward. I can understand that.

“When Derek came in last week, I’d have signed him, but there’s a load of different issues surrounding it.”

Saints will tonight almost certainly be without key midfielder Murray Davidson, who scored in the 2-1 win over Hearts before going off with a knee injury. Following a scan, Lomas expects him to miss out tonight and the knee will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s clash with Celtic.

Meanwhile, Inverness manager Terry Butcher has backed goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey to fill the void created by the injury to Ryan Esson as Caley Thistle seek to finish the season on a high. Tuffey was a late replacement for last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Aberdeen after Esson suffered a groin injury in the warm-up.

Tuffey is set to continue in goal tonight and Sunday’s match with Hibernian and has Butcher’s confidence.

Butcher said: “Ryan’s going to be out for a couple of weeks. He’s tweaked his adductor muscle quite badly. Jonny’s had to bide his time, he’s worked very hard and been a great team member. He’s done very well for us whenever he’s come into the side. He gets his chance. I know he’ll take it and do well.”

The Pittodrie win means 10th-placed Caley Thistle could go above the eighth-placed Dons with victory over Saints in their game in hand.