Craig Levein feels his St Johnstone side have overcome their fears after battling to a vital 1-0 victory over Ross County in the cinch Premiership.
Graham Carey’s wonderful curling effort 19 minutes from time clinched the win for Saints and lifted them off the foot of the table and up to 10th.
Levein saw his team squander a 2-0 advantage in his first match in charge against Motherwell but there was no repeat as they held firm in the latter stages against the Staggies.
“I talked to them after the Motherwell game about us getting spooked, well I think we’ve dealt with the ghosts now and that is evidence enough that we can cope with pressure in a situation where we are in front,” said Levein.
“I can’t off the top of my head remember a clear-cut opportunity for Ross County so that pleases me enormously.
“The second half, I think we had more control of the game and what a goal to win any game – that’s the quality Graham has got.
“There’s some glimpses of good stuff, some really good things today but hopefully we can get more of them.“
St Johnstone have picked up seven points from their last three league fixtures, and Levein has his sights set on climbing the table.
Following the international break, the former Hearts boss will take his team to Tynecastle hoping to extend their undefeated run to four matches.
“It helps in the short term but we need to use it to put together a run where we can actually not just get off the bottom of the table,” he added.
“The ambition has got to be to try climb the table and that’s what we’ll try and do.”
Malky Mackay was disappointed as his side dropped into the relegation play-off position following a poor showing in Perth.
St Johnstone goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov was rarely troubled over the course of the 90 minutes, and the Staggies boss felt his side lacked the qualities that had seen them pick up a point from each of their previous three away league fixtures.
“When I look at it in the end, we didn’t have enough that were showing that extra little bit of responsibility today and that’s not like them – if nothing else we are a brave team,” he said.
“Over the last couple of weeks – the three away games at Dundee, Motherwell and Hibs – we’ve shown up really well.
“It was a scrappy game today, I said at half-time that one moment of quality was going to change this game between both teams and Graham Carey scores a very good goal.
“We just didn’t have that extra little bit of cutting edge and quality all over the park actually that we’ve shown in the last couple of weeks – especially away from home.”
[(Hearts) Strength]: 1. Hearts are motivated to start with a win in this home game.2. Hearts won 3-0 over Sunderland A.F.C. in the last warm-up game. They also kept all wins in the previous 4 Cup games, showing decent form.3. Hearts won the last 5 home games, revealing high scoring efficiency and outstanding home performances.4. Hearts scored 19 goals and conceded one in the last 5 games, boasting...
[(Ilves Tampere) Strength]: 1. Ilves Tampere's Roope Riski just performed impressively in the first leg against AZ Alkmaar in European football. He is the main scoring point of the team.2. Ilves Tampere remained unbeaten in the last 4 home games, showing certain home strength.3. Ilves Tampere are ranked 2nd with outstanding offense.4. The AH line is -1.5 for Ilves Tampere, showing their superior s...
[(IFK Goteborg) Strength]: 1. IFK Goteborg scored 3 goals from open play in the last league game, with each goal scored by a different player, showcasing their multiple scorers on offense.[(IFK Goteborg) Neutral]: 1. IFK Goteborg had BTTS in 3 of the previous 4 games, showing a high likelihood of goals from both ends lately.2. IFK Goteborg got 2 wins and 2 losses in the previous 4 home games, reve...
Lewandowski told to quit Barcelona for Saudi moveFormer Poland goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski believes that despite Robert Lewandowski's success at Barcelona, things are not all that rosy for him at the Catalan outfit. The Polish legend added that the 36-year-old should head to the Middle East as he is not being properly utilised by his Blaugrana team-mates.Tomaszewski told Mundo Deportivo: "Robert sh...
Ex-Barcelona president: Rashford better than Nico WilliamsFormer Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has boldly stated that Marcus Rashford is a better player than Nico Williams. His comments came in response to criticism from Inaki Williams after the younger Williams turned down a move to Blaugrana and instead signed a long-term extension with Athletic Club."First of all, for me, Marcus Rashford is ...
General view of Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium Real Madrid will begin their LaLiga campaign with a home game against Osasuna as scheduled after Spain's federation (RFEF) rejected their appeal to postpone the August 19 fixture on Thursday, local media reported.Real had requested a longer rest period and pre-season after playing in the Club World Cup in the US where they lost to Paris St Ge...
DONE DEAL: Real Sociedad sign Lyon defender Caleta-CarReal Sociedad have signed Olympique Lyon defender Duje Caleta-Car.The Croatia international has joined La Real on a season-long loan with an option to buy.Lyon have announced Caleta-Car will join La Real for an initial €500,000 loan fee and can sign permanently at the end of the coming season for €4m.Caleta-Car, 28, has a deal with ...
Elfsborg celebrate Arber Zeneli's winnerElfsborg were the only team to pick up three points in Sunday's Allsvenskan matches, beating Hacken 2-1 away from home to move above Malmo and into third place. Elsewhere, Djurgarden and Halmstad played out a stalemate, as did struggling Sirius and Oster.As the only team in the top five in action this weekend, Elfsborg had the chance not only to boost their ...
Lyon splashing out to sign Liverpool midfielder MortonOlympique Lyon are splashing out to buy Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton.Morton is set to leave Liverpool for France in a 315m deal.The Daily Mail says Morton was also interesting West Ham, Sporting Braga, Ajax and Strasbourg.However, the England U21 international is now a step away from joining Lyon.Morton, 22, managed to make only six senior...
Kane shares verdict on Luis Diaz after Bayern debut Harry Kane expressed his delight at playing alongside Luis DDaz after the former Liverpool star made his debut against Lyon on Saturday. While the match wasn’t a perfect start for the Colombia international, the 28-year-old showed glimpses of his quality to leave a strong impression on the English striker."DDaz did a great job today. We've ...
- 1 Phil Parkinson breaks silence on Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's shock bid to bring ex-Man Utd star Christian Eriksen to Wrexham
- 2 TIPS - Real Salt Lake VS Atletico San Luis
- 3 Arsenal legend backs Premier League rivals to become next invincibles and take prestigious title from Gunners
- 4 Go Ahead Eagles star duo linked to Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers
- 5 Daily Laugh - Raya nair
- 6 Man Utd, Newcastle turn to Stuttgart striker Woltemade
- 7 Liverpool ready "to go big" for wantaway Newcastle striker Isak
- 8 Real Madrid Willing to Sell Rodrygo — But Only If Two Key Conditions Are Met
- 9 Man City boss Guardiola delivers definitive answer to Barcelona return question
- 10 TIPS - Karlsruher SC VS SC Preussen Munster