ANDY GRAHAM has hailed the efforts of Morgyn Neill after a dominant showing against St Johnstone.
The centre half has stepped into the team since David Devine’s injury against East Fife and hugely stepped up to the plate against the Saints.
Craig Levein’s side were dealt a shock cup upset from Alloa, who beat them by three goals to two, with Neill himself opening the scoring.
Aside from his goal, Neill had a tough job of marshalling Benjamin Kimpioke who led the line for St Johnstone.
Neill went toe to toe with the Swedish striker and came out on top across the full 90, a particular source of pride for the Wasps boss.
While many will view this as a first step to forgiving Neill for his playoff semi final red card against Hamilton in May, Graham insisted that was never in doubt as he turned his attentions to this season.
He said: “Even at the time, I was never going to be lambasting Morgyn for what happened to him at the playoffs.
“I said to him after the game – ‘it’s done and that’s it, all you can do is move forward and be positive when you come back in’.
“He’s been positive when he came back, he’s in really good shape which is pleasing for me and with David Devine’s injury, he’s come in and he’s taken his opportunity.
“He was excellent tonight, never mind the goal, I thought he was really physical against their striker and he was very strong.
“Him, Dave McKay, Scott Taggart and Calum Waters, go through the whole team – there’s not a single failure.
“If you’re going to beat a Premiership team, you’re going to need 11 guys plus the players coming off the bench to be at it. They were and it’s important that they enjoy it."
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