Forget About Usa – Getting A Win At St Johnstone Is The Priority Says Nick Ross

[JoeCovenant]

The talk this week has been all about possible games in Philadelphia but the only ‘Ps’ interesting Dundee’s Nick Ross right now are points and Perth.

Tonight he’ll be trying to pick up three of the former when he’s part of the Dark Blues team that heads for the latter and a vital clash with in-form St Johnstone.

And the midfielder knows to be thinking of anything else would be folly. So talk of future Premiership games against Celtic in America will be banished from the away dressing-room at McDiarmid Park.

“We’ve all seen the story in the press and everywhere else,†he said.

“It’s interesting but as players we don’t know much about it, so there’s not a lot we can say on it.

“It’s maybe something in the future that would be a good experience but we’ve something more important to think about right now and that’s St Johnstone.â€

And his experience of playing against Saints, first for Inverness Caley Thistle and now Dundee, tells him that’s the way things should be.

“Every time you play them it’s always a tight game. You rarely see them getting turned over and they always have a solid team with a lot of experience.

“The players at the back are strong and it won’t be an easy game. It’s always a tough place to go, McDiarmid Park.

“But we played well second half against Hearts last week. We played very well in the second 45 and might even have nicked it in the end, so we feel we can build on that.

“It should be a good game.â€

As his words suggest, Ross is not among those who like to deride Saints for being a long-ball or over-physical team. When he looks at tonight’s opposition, he sees an outfit with attributes worth copying.

“For years now St Johnstone have been very good at finding a way to take points from games. They do well every year, are always top six and round about the European places.

“I think we’ve been adding that ability to take points when we’re not at our best to our game this season.

“They’re a good team to look at and we think we can be like them.â€

That’s why he rates a 2-1 victory at Dens Park when the teams last clashed back in August as one of the best wins of the season so far.

Right up there, possibly, with the 4-0 demolition of Kilmarnock down at Rugby Park on the opening day of the campaign.

“We got a lot of plaudits then because it was the first game of the season and it was an exciting time to watch us.

“It’s been hard to get back to that level because teams have watched us and picked up on what our strengths are.

“But we did beat St Johnstone at Dens and we played very well in that game. You have to, to beat them and it was a very good result for us.â€

Tough as he expects this one to be, Ross admits Perth has been a favourite away destination for him throughout his career so far.

For, he admits, an obvious reason.

“When I was up at Inverness, it was one of the away games we looked forward to because it was just two hours on the bus. That was a luxury for us.

“Now it’s more of a real derby and, hopefully, we will have a big support there. That’ll be good.

“It’ll be a change for me because, when I went there with Inverness, our supporters only had a small part of the stadium.

“Our away fans are always really loud and enjoy themselves.

“Hopefully, we can put on a good performance for them and get them shouting even more.â€

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