Steve Lomas won’t be fazed by Turks’ tricks

ST Johnstone manager Steve Lomas yesterday laughed off dirty tricks by Turkish rivals Eskisehirspor.

The Northern Irishman flew out to Holland to spy on Europa League rivals in action against Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar. But when he got there Lomas discovered opposite number Ersun Yanal, a former national boss of Turkey, had been playing a numbers game.

Lomas said: “The team sheet they came up with had the wrong numbers against their players, which was nice of them! It was a bit sneaky but at least I got a feel for them and the way they play. The trip was worth it. They have some big units in the squad. They replaced a 6ft 3in centre forward with a guy who must have been 6ft 7ins. And their two centre-backs were well over six feet. They were decent on the ball and wanted to boss it in a 1-1 draw. Now we are going through photographs of their players so our lads have an idea who they are up against.”

Lomas said temperatures had hit 100 degrees in Eskisehir and the heat is sure to prove a factor in his game plan on Thursday.

“We won’t be able to press them for 90 minutes in the heat so we have to be disciplined, organised and above all patient. We know it will be draining. But we are in as good shape as we can be at this stage.”