Callum Davidson will be required to reshuffle his pack of Perth cards following Michael O’Halloran’s sending off last week.
But the St Johnstone boss is more than content with his options of attacking aces ahead of tomorrow’s first home game of the new Premiership season.
With O’Halloran suspended, Davidson could deal Stevie May in from the first whistle while the possibility is also there to offer Craig Conway or Isaac Olaofe a competitive starting debut.
And with John Robertson and Chris Kane still to return from injury, the McDiarmid manager can play his hand with confidence.
“It’s good to have options with the energy that the front players expend,” Davidson told the PA this week.
“The way we play I need to make changes and I’ve got the players there to do that.
St Johnstone game against Aberdeen ON but eight Dons players must self-isolate
“It might even be tactically tweaking things rather than just a straight replacement. We’ll wait and see what I do on Saturday.
“Craig’s [Conway] season finished at the same time as us so he’s only had the 10 days or so training here.
“With him it’s about finding the right balance between game time and training time and bringing him on at the right time.
“He’s definitely getting closer to a start. The extra week has helped him. It’s been a hard week’s training.
“We’re monitoring him properly so we judge it right.”
The first competitive match to take place at McDiarmid Park amid the coronavirus restrictions will see Aberdeen, who lost 1-0 to Rangers last week, travel to Perth.
The visitors will be without EIGHT players for the match who must self-isolate following positive COVID-19 tests.
Saints were this week exploring the option of piping in fake crowd noise — as others have done — to bring a sense of normality to tomorrow’s proceedings.
Ahead of the 12.30pm Sky Sports kick-off, Davidson said: “Aberdeen have been really successful and Derek has been fantastic in his time there.
“We are going to need to be disciplined, work hard and not allow them any space.
“They have good players in attacking areas that can hurt you.
“When we’ve got the ball we need to be clinical. If you are not clinical against Aberdeen, it’s going to be a tough game.
“I thought Rangers were excellent at the start against them. I don’t think that was anything to do with Aberdeen.
“Aberdeen came back into the game and we’re preparing for them to be even better, fitter and stronger when they come here.”
Saints got a taster of how Aberdeen may shape-up during last month’s pre-season friendly at Pittodrie, which the Perth men won 2-1 thanks to Scott Tanser’s double.
But Davidson doesn’t believe that game will have any bearing on this weekend.
“I don’t think the bounce game will be a factor,” he admitted. “Myself and Derek both felt we needed a game and I don’t think there was any relevance.
“This is a competitive match and will be totally different to the friendly up there.”
