Barry Douglas has warned his St Johnstone team mates they need to realise livelihoods are at stake if they don’t dig themselves out of relegation trouble.
The troubled Perth side fell nine points adrift of second bottom Hearts after losing 3-1 at Rangers on Sunday and have taken just one point from their last seven games. Boss Simon Valakari has admitted their position is catastrophic with Saints’ unbroken 16-year top flight run in serious danger of coming to an end.
And veteran Douglas, who returned from a two-month injury lay-off as a half-time sub at Ibrox, pulled no punches as he told his mates to step up and realise the consequences of not turning their form round soon. Saints get a break from league duty when Motherwell visit in the Scottish Cup on Saturday. And Douglas said: “The challenge is there for us. All the motivation is there when you take a look at the table – it’s livelihoods and that’s the reality of it.
“I think a lot of boys need to realise that. It’s not just about what we do on the pitch; it affects everyone else surrounding the club. There’s still loads to play for. In this league two, three consecutive game changes the outlook of where you are in the table.
“I’ll be amplifying that in the dressing room that it’s one game at a time now – starting in the cup next week. I would hope my experience and leadership would be as valuable as my football ability in the next while.
“Football is results-driven industry and when you don’t win you can criticise tactics, formations, everything. But at the end of the day if you concede the goals that we’ve conceded, if boys are accountable for themselves – not just individually – of course it’s a collective, but there’s a lot of individual errors, decisions that don’t help when you’re in this situation. Ultimately that leads to goals. There’s a lot of small changes that make a big change in the big picture and that’s what we’re working towards.”
Former Dundee United, Wolves and Lech Poznan full back Douglas signed a year-long contract in October but has been limited to four appearances after tearing his calf against Motherwell in November. Now he’s returned to action the 35-year-old knows he has a huge role to play on and off the park as Valakari’s side look to pull off a great escape.
He said: “Of course I’m not just in there to speak and just guide. I’m in there to help the boys and I feel I’m still able to do that – otherwise I wouldn’t be here. It’s a challenge. There’s no getting away from that and it’s a different challenge to any other I’ve been involved in. Exciting for me nonetheless but of course we don’t want to be in this position.
“But it is what it is, the table doesn’t lie. We have to take it game by game and see where we end up. It was difficult being out. Trying to come in and help the boys and then getting a little bit of an unusual injury set me back. It’s been frustrating.
“The injury was a kick against Motherwell. I actually played most of the game and then it didn’t really settle down. I went for a scan and it showed quite a severe tear in my calf. That’s why I’ve been out for so long. We had to be patient to allow it to heal. That’s been frustrating, the games that I’ve missed but I am back now. I need to give all that I’ve got, use my experience to help the boys. Try and turn this around.”
Saints faced a hammering after falling 3-0 behind after just 25 minutes at Ibrox. But they rallied after the break to win the second half 1-0. Douglas said: “You’re always going to give yourself a mountain to climb if you concede goals like that. We’ll take encouragement from how we defended in the second half. Maybe a bit more composure with the ball going forward we could’ve created more chances.
“That’s been a story of the season since I’ve been at the club. That lack of decision-making and composure in the final third.”