Start key for Saints boss Wright
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright is looking for a better start against Ross County after watching his team fall behind early in both their Ladbrokes Premiership games.
Saints have lost goals inside 10 minutes against Hearts and Inverness and Wright wants to avoid a repeat at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night.
"We have got to start games better, particularly at home," Wright said. "It was a wee bit of a problem last season as well.
"You don't want to be going behind every week. Goals change games and if you go 1-0 up teams have to come out a wee bit more at you. So it is difficult to get back into games.
"We have proved that we can but we have to make sure we don't get in that situation. We have to start games better and when we get opportunities we have got to take them, and hopefully that will give us a platform to win games."
His side fought back for a late 1-1 draw against Caley Thistle on Saturday, and came back from two goals down before falling 4-3 at Tynecastle, and Wright does not want to be chasing the game again.
"We are at our best when we do everything quickly, play at a tempo, and that's with and without the ball," the Northern Irishman said.
"We moved the ball really well at Hearts and created loads of opportunities but on Saturday we were pedestrian in terms of how we moved the ball, especially first half, and you tend to go longer more often than you should have.
"We have people who are comfortable on the ball and we didn't move it quickly enough.
"Training was brilliant all week but the first-half performance wasn't what we expect."
Saints will assess Dave Mackay's fitness ahead of the clash.
The defender has been building up his fitness following hip surgery but is likely to have to wait longer for his comeback.
Chris Millar (pelvis) is also just short of fitness while Steven Anderson (broken eye socket) remains out.
Meanwhile, Ross County defender Marcus Fraser laid a goal on a plate for Craig Curran on Saturday but the former Celtic player took more satisfaction from his side's clean sheet.
The right-back burst into the box after a one-two with Jackson Irvine, slipped the ball past a Hamilton defender and set Curran up for a tap-in to seal a 2-0 win.
But it was the work at the back that Fraser was especially proud of as County got their Ladbrokes Premiership campaign off the mark.
The 21-year-old said: "It's good to be involved in goals and get forward and make an assist.
"If I can chip in with a couple of goals as well then that's a bonus but I'm a defender first and foremost, so keeping a clean sheet is the main thing. If I can add anything going forward, it's a bonus."
Fraser has another test on Tuesday, and he said: "St Johnstone are a good side. They always manage to get in the top six and that's no coincidence. We need to be raring to go and fighting for every ball."
Scott Fox is expected to be fit for the game. The goalkeeper went off through illness midway through the second half of Saturday's win, after earlier saving a penalty.
Source: PAR
