For St Johnstone keeper Peter Enckelman, Tuesday night’s Scottish Cup win against Hearts was a career highlight to savour, but he insisted he and his Perth team-mates will have no problem getting their minds back on league business this Saturday.
The McDiarmid Park side travel to Kilmarnock looking to complete an impressive away double for the week against one of the SPL’s form sides.
Only one of Saints’ last five away games has been lost and that came in injury time against Celtic.
So confidence couldn’t be higher in the camp as they prepare for the Rugby Park encounter.
The Finnish internationalist, who has shrugged off a knee knock to take his place between the posts, said, “It was a great team performance to beat Hearts, and we deserved to win the tie.
“It was up there with my best cup results, but now it’s all about the league.
“Nobody gave us much chance going to Edinburgh and that was mentioned in the build-up to the game.
“But we were quietly confident going there. We knew we had to stay solid, deal with the threat posed by Kevin Kyle and the chances would come.
“We restricted them to the minimum amount of chances and will be looking to do the same to Kilmarnock.”
He added, “There’s no great secret about our results you have to work hard.
“The lads in front of me put in so much effort they give me a chance to enjoy games a bit more.Disappointed”Killie will be left disappointed going out of the cup to Rangers, but they have been impressive this season.
“We enjoyed our cup result for 24 hours and maybe it brought a smile to our chairman Geoff Brown it will be good for the club’s finances.
“But after some recovery time we have been preparing for the weekend game.
“We want to take our cup form into the league. Falkirk or Partick Thistle in the next round are at the back of our minds and right now it’s all about Kilmarnock.”
Enckelman produced a stunning stoppage-time save to deny Stephen Elliot a Tynecastle equaliser but he modestly described it as “one for the cameras.”
The former Aston Villa and Cardiff City man added, “I saw it all the way. Dave Mackay got a little touch on the shot to take it further away from me and set it up for a camera save.
“I got a good hand to it and managed to push it well out of the way and into a safe area.”
Enckelman went on, “Some neutrals are saying it was a cup shock, but not to us. We are in the same league and we went to Tynecastle convinced we wouldn’t lose.
“Dundee United and Ross County showed last season clubs outwith Glasgow and Edinburgh can reach finals. But before we start looking at the next round we have a few important league games.”
When Saints were toiling a few months ago Killie took full advantage by winning 3-0 in their last meeting.RevengeEnckelman added, “It’s not about revenge, but they played us off the park at times that day.
“Now we are on a good run of form and will be looking for the three points. It would be nice to rectify the result at Perth.”
Saints boss Derek McInnes, who has no fresh injury concerns, said, “Although Kilmarnock were defeated by Rangers this week, that’s no slight on them.
“They’re a very good side which is in great form in the SPL. Their season so far is as impressive as anyone’s.
“The last time we played I thought the result flattered them, but it was a sore one to take because you don’t want to lose games by that sort of scoreline on your own patch.
“There’s no doubt we’ve improved since then and I’m expecting Saturday’s match to be a tight one.
“It’s a match between two teams in good form and with confidence high.”
Meanwhile, Swedish full-back Billy Berntsson and French midfielder Benjamin Laurant come into contention for Kilmarnock after signing this week.
Their arrival comes at a convenient time with Craig Bryson and Jamie Hamill both out today.
Hamill begins a two-match suspension while Bryson has been told he will be out for four to six weeks after going over on his ankle during the cup defeat to Rangers.
Meanwhile, McDiarmid Park defender Graham Gartland is set to join Ross County on a one-month loan deal.
McInnes said, “We have been very restricted in the number of bounce games we have been able to play recently so sending Graham out to get some match action is the right thing to do.
“He’s in good hands with (County boss) Willie McStay.”