Saints boss Tommy Wright keen to see more of winger Craig Thomson

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright has earmarked home-grown winger Craig Thomson for more game time this season.

The 20-year-old stood in for Rangers target Michael O'Halloran in Saturday's goalless stalemate with Hamilton.

Wright felt O'Halloran had been unsettled by two rejected bids from Rangers and left him out of the squad.

Winger Thomson impressed on a difficult surface with his trickery and direct running and Wright said: "Craig was excellent. He was probably a little bit nervous but once he got over that he was a threat all day and his pace caused them problems.

"I didn't realise until after the game that it was his first start. I was really pleased for him and Joe Shaughnessy was a rock at the back. They are two young players that have done really well for us.

"I have always seen Craig playing a part as the season progresses. Myself and the staff know when he is ready to be put in. He is someone we rate very highly."

Reflecting on a dour affair on a boggy pitch, Wright said: "We got a point but I think it should have been three.

"To get the game on the way it has been all week was testament to the ground staff and once we got the ball into wide areas we dominated large parts of the game."

Late substitute John Sutton looked set to net a winner from David Wotherspoon's corner but his effort was scrambled off the line.

Wright said: "I don't know what Sutty has to do to score. I turned around thinking it was in but it was hooked off the line.

"And the ref missed a stonewall penalty with Ziggy Gordon's handball.

"I was frustrated with the referee. I have never seen someone make four fouls and get a ticking off and not get booked. It is a difficult job for referees but he let a lot go."

Accies boss Martin Canning was delighted with the response of a squad hurting after a 4-1 cup thrashing from Annan.

And now they face major tests against Celtic on Tuesday and Hearts next weekend.

Canning stressed: "I've always said that our focus is staying in the Premier League. We have to make sure we're a Premier club next year.

"We have never thought staying up here would be an easy task and we knew we'd have to fight and dig in and hopefully performances like the one at Perth will go a long way to securing that."

Assessing the transfer window, he added: "We don't want to lose any players but hopefully we can add a bit of quality to make us stronger."