The manager of St. Johnstone issues a challenge to Sam McClelland at Dundee United.

A new loan signing Sam McClelland may have departed St.. Johnstone, but manager Craig Levein assures that he won’t be forgotten. McClelland, a Northern Ireland international, recently moved to Dundee United in pursuit of regular playing time.

Despite having another season left on his contract after this one, McClelland’s ankle injury sidelined him for several months. Levein emphasizes the importance of McClelland getting back into action to assess his longer-term future.

“Sam needs games, so it’s a positive move for him,” stated Levein. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to see him play due to his injury when we arrived, and he’s only recently returned to training. His immediate priority is to break into the Dundee United squad, and once he does that, I’ll have the opportunity to monitor his progress.”

Levein assures that McClelland’s development will remain a priority, acknowledging the necessity for him to be actively playing at this stage of his career.

In the upcoming match against in-form Hearts on Wednesday night, St. Johnstone will once again be without a key trio for the second consecutive game.

“David (Keltjens) might be available,” mentioned Levein. “He’s very close, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

However, Dan Phillips, Matty Smith, and Liam Gordon remain sidelined and won’t be risked for the match. Levein emphasizes a cautious approach with muscle injuries, as pushing too hard could result in a tear and a longer spell on the sidelines.

“It’s disappointing to be without the three of them again,” Levein added, reflecting on their absence in the previous match against Ross County. “But credit to the players who stepped up in their absence.”

Facing an in-form opponent, Hearts, who haven’t suffered a defeat since early December, presents a formidable challenge for St. Johnstone.

“They’re currently the third-best team in the country, and they seem to have established that position convincingly,” stated Levein.

Acknowledging the strength of their opponents, Levein suggests that they are well-versed in Hearts’ style of play and tactics, indicating thorough preparation for the upcoming match.

“What we need to focus on is performing at our best level and hopefully that will suffice,” Levein commented. “In our previous encounter at Tynecastle, I felt we performed well. We demonstrated some excellent passages of play and only narrowly suffered defeat.”

“Our confidence is relatively high at the moment, and it’s not solely due to the result against Ross County,” Levein added.

“We had a dip after the winter break but I can see we’re getting back to the levels we had before.

“I think we’ll improve as the weeks go on from here.”