'We went toe-to-toe against Rangers with 10 men' - St Johnstone team-mate leaps to Nicky Clark defence after Ibrox red card

Dan Phillips leapt to the defence of St Johnstone team-mate Nicky Clark after the 2-0 defeat at Ibrox and insisted the forward would not have intended to hurt Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack in the incident that saw him sent off.

Clark, on his return to his former club, was dismissed after 34 minutes by referee Willie Collum, who took his time to survey the scene as Jack received treatment on the turf before brandishing the red card. Rangers boss Michael Beale claimed Jack took a "horrible knock to his shin" in the challenge and "has the gash to show for it". Clark's boot was raised as he collided with Jack while stretching for the ball but Phillips believes there was no intent. "It was harsh I felt on Nicky," he said. "I’m disappointed for him as I know what he’s like. He’s a good lad. He’d never go out to injure someone."

Only minutes later Jack careered into a tackle on Adam Montgomery that saw Collum summoned to the pitchside monitor after brandishing a yellow card. Nick Walsh in VAR headquarters felt an obvious error had been made but Collum disagreed and stuck with his original decision.

"In terms of the other (non) red, it’s strange that ref’s gone over to the monitor and (not) overturned it but at the end of the day you can’t change a decision that’s been made,” added Phillips. "I think we come out of it disappointed because for 60 minutes we’ve gone toe to toe with Rangers with 10 men and we’ve battled really well. We’re disappointed with the result but we’re proud of the performance and he energy we put in."