Duo have defied relegation billing - McInnes

Last updated : 07 May 2010 By Team Talk

Saints came up from the First Division last year but were tipped by many pundits to be fighting a relegation battle this season along with Accies.

However, McInnes's men are one point ahead of the Lanarkshire club in seventh place and can have a relatively relaxed afternoon in Perth while Falkirk and Kilmarnock battle against the drop when they face each other at Rugby Park.

McInnes said how pleased he was with his first season as an SPL boss.

"We are going head to head with Hamilton for seventh place," he said.

"It has been a relatively successful season for both clubs.

"If you had said before the season to me that this would be the case then I would have have gladly taken it and I'm sure Billy would have as well.

"I always felt we could do well in the SPL and could potentially win every game that we played in.

"We are unbeaten in our last five games and have kept the standards high which is pleasing

"Now we would like to finish the season with a win and send the fans away happy.

"So we will be positive going in to the game and I am looking forward to it."

McInnes did not look forward to telling some of his squad that they will not figure in his plans for next season.

Out of contract Andy Jackson has been handed a six-month deal to give him the chance to prove himself after injuries and illness decimated the last two years of his career.

However, some of his team mates have not been so lucky as the Perth boss looks to refurbish his squad.

McInnes said: "Telling players you have to let them go is the hardest part of management.

"I owed it to them to let them know as early as possible but we will not make it public until next week.

"The players are not daft. They know it is not in their best interests to hang around if they are not getting a game.

"And you can't stand still, you have to move on and I am looking to bring in three or four new faces for next season so we need to create room.

"We will be looking mainly for Bosmans for next season but although there will be more players available, we are still struggling to compete with wages.

"If another club wants a player we are looking at then they will get them but we have to keep trying to improve."

On Jackson's short-term deal, McInnes told the club's official website: "We have given Jacko a contract through to the end of the year and it is up to him to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I have seen signs in the last two or three weeks of the Andy Jackson we remember and were waiting for.

"He has a real hard time of it but it has taken far longer than we ever imagined to get him to this stage.

"He now has to keep progressing and showing the right approach. We know what he is capable of but we have stepped-up a level since he was scoring goals regularly here.

"Injury aside, he has to be in tip-top physical condition to give himself a real chance."

Meanwhile, McInnes is running the rule over German goalkeeper Michael Langer who has played Bundesliga football with Stuttgart and Freiburg.

Source: Team Talk

Source: Team Talk