Callum Davidson wants his players to handle the play-off pressure

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson has urged his players to show again how well they can perform under pressure as their battle for top-flight survival reaches a conclusion.

Saints travel to Inverness on Friday for the first leg of the cinch Premiership play-off final.

It is not the sort of end-of-season showpiece that Saints wanted to be involved in having won the Scottish Cup at this stage last season to add to their earlier League Cup success.

A season which started with the Perth side getting a Europa League draw against Galatasaray in Istanbul took a major turn for the worse and their cup defences ended during a 10-game losing streak.

But they got off the bottom of the table in the second half of the season and beat Aberdeen last week to secure 11th place after Dundee had briefly put them under pressure.

Now Davidson wants his side to brush off the pressure and utilise their experience of playing on big occasions such as their recent Hampden and European encounters.

“I think it will do us well, the ones that played, and know the situation,” he said.

“The European games are very similar with home and away legs. It’s something that players at our level don’t get too much of. I think that proves they can perform at a high level under pressure.

“We had to win against Aberdeen and put a very good performance in. I hope the players take that on board and have a bit of belief in themselves.

“It’s a game of football – you have got to go out there with enthusiasm, passion, a little bit of courage and belief in yourself, and go and try and win the games.

“We have got to play with tempo and energy and just go with that positive mindset.

“We are on the way up from where we were in January, so that’s a positive. We have to