PREVIEW | Saints v Hibs

Saints take on Hibs in the Ladbrokes Premiership at McDiarmid Park tomorrow in a clash between two sides aiming for a top six finish.

Up until the weekend it was Saints in pole position for the top half finish however following Hibs' win at Dundee and Saints suffering defeat to Aberdeen it's now the Easter Road outfit who occupy 6th place in the table ahead of Saints on goal difference.

Ahead of tomorrow night's match, the manager says it's the perfect opportunity for his players to bounce back from Saturday with a positive result and performance against Paul Heckingbottom's side.

"I think there were definitely positives to take from the match at the weekend," Tommy said, "even though it was a defeat I thought we started well and probably should've been ahead before Aberdeen scored.

"For the good spells of possession we had we didn't really carve out many clear cut opportunities and the chances we did have we lacked that cutting edge in front of goal.

"We have to be more clinical in the final third. The players were hurting after the game on Saturday but this is the perfect game for them to bounce back."

This is the third meeting between the sides this season but the first time Tommy has come up against the new Hibs boss Heckingbottom.

He has won both of his first two games in charge and the manager has noticed some slight changes to the way Hibs have played under their new boss.

"I think it's going to be an open game," he said, "and I've watched Hibs since Paul took the job and he's tweaked things slightly.

"I watched them against Dundee on Friday night and although Hibs scored four, Dundee created a lot of opportunities themselves. I'm sure we'll get chances and we need to be more ruthless and take them.

"The new manager has gone with two up top and they're quite expansive in how they play. They've got a lot of quality in the likes of McNulty, Kamberi and Mallan. They've invested heavily and they'll probably be disappointed with where they are in the league at the moment.

"They play an unorthodox 4-4-2 with Mallan on the right playing narrow. Since Paul went in they've had a lift in results but you could argue they are games they would be expected to win against Hamilton and Dundee.

"It's going to be a different challenge for them playing against us and if we defend better, limit them to few opportunities and cause them problems at the other end then I believe we can get three points."

It's undoubtedly a big match for both clubs in the battle for the top six but Tommy doesn't believe the game is a 'must-win'.

"Obviously it would go a long way to helping us in the race for the top six," the manager said, "but I wouldn't call it a must-win.

"Three points can be easily made up in the remaining games but what a victory does do is make our job easier. It would put a lot of pressure on the other teams around us if we win.

"I think there are four teams in the hunt. Livingston, Motherwell, Hibs and ourselves. I would say Hearts have probably done enough now to all but secure their place in the top six.

"We've just got to make sure we play well and how we know we are capable of and if we do that I think we'll come away with a positive result on Wednesday night."

On the injury front, Tommy should have Michael O'Halloran back available for selection with Zander Clark and Drey Wright out. Brian Easton is continuing his comeback from injury with the manager hoping to get him some more game time in the Reserves in the coming weeks.

Tomorrow night's match is a 7:45PM kick-off at McDiarmid Park and the match is LIVE on Saints TV. Roddy Grant will join us as co-commentator for the match.