THERE are many footballers who would find the prospect of a trip to Gayfield shortly after a visit of Galatasaray a little surreal. But after a year to remember for Murray Davidson, the long-serving St Johnstone midfielder is taking the quirk of the calendar in his stride.
The 33-year-old played both legs of Saints’ ultimately doomed tilt at the Europa League play-offs but reckons he and his team-mates can take plenty of encouragement from the way they held their own against the Turkish giants for large periods of the contest before being undone in the second half of the second leg at McDiarmid Park.
A Premier Sports Cup last-16 tie with Arbroath on the Fife coast is about as far removed as one can get from a European qualifier versus a team from the bustling hubbub of Istanbul, and that is precisely what awaits Davidson and Co. this afternoon. But while the environment will be altogether different for the contingent from Perth, the objective and drive to win the match will be just the same.
“We have to put the Galatasaray disappointment behind us quickly,” Davidson said. “The manager said after the game it was good to have other big games coming up.
“Right after the match obviously we were disappointed but we want cup runs again this season and it starts against Arbroath.
“Galatasaray are a top team with massive resources, there’s no getting away from it. You look at some of their players and the way they move the ball. But after two hours of football we were level with them. So there are loads of positives to take from the two games.
“There are some things we feel we could have done better but there is no shame in losing to Galatasaray. We knew from the first leg that their movement is good and they are very difficult to play against.
“They have so many good players at the top end of the pitch that can hurt you but at half-time we were right in the game.
“Going into Thursday’s tie we felt we could win. We wanted to progress and obviously we haven’t done that. But we dust ourselves down and get ready for other games coming up.
“We are going from Galatasaray to Gayfield. It’s similar!”
Davidson jests but there is no getting away from the fact that this afternoon’s cup clash will be a completely different affair for Saints. Now it is his side that are expected to win, to control the game and brush aside their opponents, and the opposition who have nothing to lose.
The playmaker knows things that the shoe is on the other foot now – adding that last season’s cup success only alleviates the pressure on the Red Lichties. Luckily for Saints though, they also happen to have already locked horns with Arbroath only a matter of months ago. As a result, Davidson explains, he and his team-mates will have some idea of what awaits.
“We were up there in pre-season and won 4-1 but it was an extremely difficult game,” he said. “I was impressed with Arbroath.
“We know if we are not right at it we won’t go through. But we also know if we play well we have a chance to reach another cup quarter-final.
“Obviously we won two cups last year. We like cup runs here and this season is no different.
“Clubs will see us as a big target being the holders. If I am in the Arbroath dressing room, I’m saying we want to knock out St Johnstone.
“People will have us down as favourites and rightly so. Coming off the back of a European game can be difficult. But we have a big enough squad with enough quality to go there and get a positive result.
“This will be a different type of test for us. We didn’t go into the Galatasaray game thinking we weren't going to get through. We genuinely believed we had a chance.
“Arbroath players will be thinking the pressure is all on St Johnstone and they have nothing to lose. A bit like us against the Turkish side.
“That’s the way they will look at it. So we have to prepare right and the XI that are picked have to make sure we get into the next round of the cup.”
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