Craig Levein previews Aberdeen (A)

Craig Levein is confident of a St Johnstone reaction against Aberdeen following last weekend’s defeat to St Mirren in Paisley.

The McDiarmid Park manager was disappointed with his side’s lack of fight and determination during Saturday’s loss, which ultimately saw Saints lose out 2-0.

Levein and his players now face a busy week with fixtures against Aberdeen and Livingston to come in the Scottish Premiership.

“I think you are 100 per cent correct in saying St Mirren wasn’t our best performance,” the manager said to the broadcast media when previewing Wednesday's game.

“Every now and again these things happen though, and it is not something I have accused the players of during my time here.

“We have been up for the fight, that is something we have done particularly well.

“The performance in Paisley was something we needed to speak about because it was quite stark the fact that we didn’t roll our sleeves up and compete as well as we could have done.

“When you don’t compete on an athletic and physical level then the opponents get the upper hand and you feel stressed.

“When you feel stressed then other things fall apart as well and that is the situation that we got ourselves into.

“First and foremost we need to make sure we are ready for the battle.”

Saturday’s loss was marred with a worrying incident at full-time when striker Adama Sidibeh required medical attention after the whistle.

The Gambian frontman is now in a stable condition after being released from hospital, but he will not be involved against Aberdeen this midweek.

Levein explained: “The protocol is that he still has to get a scan. We are trying to organise that as we speak.

“We are just being as cautious as we need to be. Once that is done and we get the okay, then we can get back to talking about the football side of things.

“Thankfully the medical teams did a really good job and they have taken care of him really well in hospital the last few days.

“We will be guided by the people who know best with regards to his return to the squad.”

Levein confirmed that defender Ryan McGowan will be fit and available for the trip to Pittodrie and there are no other injury concerns ahead of the match.