Callum Davidson left unhappy with Ryan Jack 'outlaw' tackle on Celtic loanee

By John McGinley

January 31, 2023

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson is no happier with the decisions made by officials at Ibrox at the weekend after reviewing the footage.

The Perth side felt aggrieved after Nicky Clark was sent off following a VAR review, they conceded a soft handball penalty and Ryan Jack was only yellow-carded for a rash challenge on Celtic loanee Adam Montgomery, who is at Saints until the end of the season.

Speaking to The Dundee Courier, Davidson suggested Montgomery was lucky not to escape the incident with an injury.

He said: “I’ve watched the decisions back and feel no less disappointed, that’s for sure. We need to reassess the handball rule, everyone knows that, and how quickly the penalty was given was incredible.

“The second one, Nicky Clark’s red card, was very, very strange. It was given so late and we were not told VAR was being used. Surely you have to go and have a look when it’s such an important decision in the game?

“The third one, I still don’t understand it. It was very lucky Adam wasn’t hurt. It was the type of tackle they have been trying to outlaw for the last four or five years.”

Thankfully there was no such injury for the Celtic prospect. Having made 20 appearances already for St Johnstone this season, he’s well-placed to be a regular for the remainder of the season.

Davidson is a big fan of the wing-back, who returned to Lennoxtown earlier this month for some training with the Bhoys first team.

His contract at the Bhoys doesn’t expire until 2025, meaning he’ll likely get another opportunity to try and push his way into Ange Postecoglou’s plans this summer before another decision is made on his first-team readiness.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou delivers verdict on Celtic’s January window as reporter ‘jumps a few steps ahead’.