Records not on manager's mind

Saints welcome Motherwell to McDiarmid Park this weekend with the chance to equal the club's top flight unbeaten record but the manager insists that it's not in anybody's mind going into tomorrow's match.

The club is currently on an eight match unbeaten run - which started with a 1-0 away victory against Saturday's opponents - but the focus of Tommy and his players is solely on putting in another good performance against Stephen Robinson's side.

"It hasn't been in our thoughts at all," the manager said, "and I don't want to belittle records but it doesn't really mean anything. What matters is where we finish up at the end of the season.

"Of course we want to keep the run going but the unbeaten record isn't something that's been mentioned.

"Our focus is on a tricky Motherwell side and ensuring that we maintain our performance levels. If we do that then I know we can get a positive result."

Tommy knows his Motherwell counterpart well and believes that Saints will be coming up against a difficult opponent at McDiarmid Park tomorrow afternoon.

"They're a good team," he said, "they might not have had the best of starts but they are still a good side. We saw that in the match at Fir Park which was close and they've taken points off both Rangers and Celtic this season.

"They finished 7th last season and got to two cup finals. This year they've struggled to find that consistency and haven't been able to get a run going but they have good quality in their squad.

"In this league there's always a bit of familiarity with the teams you come up against so we know what to expect from Motherwell.

"They play at a high tempo and like to get the ball forward as quickly as possible. They ask questions of you and get balls into the box. We're prepared for that and we're looking forward to the challenge."

The manager's own record against Motherwell makes for very good reading and Tommy is hoping that will continue this weekend.

"I don't really know what it is down to," he said, "we've always done well against them since I've been here.

"There have been a few great results - the 5-1 win away at Fir Park last season sticks in my mind - and let's hope the good form against Motherwell continues tomorrow."

On the injury front, Tommy had positive reports on the operation of winger Drey Wright and some of the other players who have been in the treatment room.

"Drey's operation was a success," said the manager, "so he's on the road to recovery and that's good news.

"Brian Easton continues to make good progress and Conor Mitchell is still down at Burnley receiving treatment on a hip injury.

"We've had Danny Swanson and Steven Anderson back in full training this week and they are both in contention which is great news for us ahead of the weekend."

Tomorrow's match is a 3PM kick-off at McDiarmid Park. The referee is Alan Muir.