St Johnstone's Tony Gallacher determined to influence games and show true quality after Tynecastle boost

He has been required to watch the majority of action from the bench this season.

But Tony Gallacher is now determined to kick his St Johnstone career up a gear following his solid second-half performance against Hearts last weekend.

The former Liverpool full-back was utilised by manager Craig Levein at the break at Tynecastle after experienced defender Andy Considine was forced off with a knock.

And while Saints were edged out 1-0, Gallacher is hoping he did enough to impress the new management team and be firmly in their thoughts for this weekend’s test against Celtic.

“Andy is a big name for us in the team,” he said of Considine’s injury. “He is very good at what he does.

“On a personal note, I’ve not played a lot this season. I got a snippet at St Mirren away for the last 10 or 15 minutes but, before that, it was Hearts at home in the first game of the season.

“For me it was just going on and seeing what I could do. I’m glad I was on the pitch and getting in situations to try and help the team out.

“Injuries can happen in football so you try to take your chance. If you can stay in the team, great. But getting minutes again was just enjoyable for myself.”

Gallacher worked a couple of promising positions down the left flank but admits that the final piece to the puzzle needs to be better.

“Even when Hearts went 1-0 up, the boys were working hard and getting chances,” Gallacher explained to the PA.

“On my part, there were a few scenarios where I got in behind but my crosses were not as good as I wanted them to be. That was disappointing.

“For 90 minutes we were in the game and we could have snatched something and even went on to get another.

“When Hearts did score, maybe a couple of months ago heads would’ve gone down