If the Perth Saints win, they’ll close the gap on their rivals to four points, so this is a massive game for them.

“The supporters have been fantastic. From day one, they have been great and I know they’ll give us strong backing tomorrow,” said Owen.

Kevin James is likely to be in his usual place at the heart of the St Johnstone defence after having half a dozen stitches inserted in a cut head received against QOS.

So, St Johnstone are likely to travel west with the squad which accounted for Queens.

Owen knows a win will put his Saints right back in the promotion hunt big style, but he insisted, “It’s another game, another three points. St Mirren are top of the league on merit, but, if my players play the way they can, I’m confident whoever we play.”

McDiarmid Park houses an attractive fixture on Sunday when Saints face Celtic in the Youth Cup (1 pm).

Brechin face a testing trip to Airdrie United this weekend and they will be minus a large number of players.

The suspended Gary Bollan will join Paul Deas, Steven Hamilton, Alex Burns and Steven Hampshire on the sidelines.

In addition, Steven Ferguson needs more game-time before he can be considered for first-team action, while Craig McEwan may be forced into action nursing a slight injury due to the dearth of defenders.

As the transfer window looms, manager Ian Campbell has been working overtime to identify players he feels can improve the squad.

“We’ll certainly be trying to make three or four changes, because we’ve proved up to now that we’re not good enough and we have to do something about that,” said Campbell, showing his frustration that time’s running out for the Glebe Park side to notch a league win before the end of the year.