TOMMY WRIGHT says that his St Johnstone players froze in the face of Celtic's first-half onslaught last night, saying they were too passive in the face of the visitor's pressure.

Wright was pleased that his men steadied the ship somewhat after a harrowing opening half hour to avoid a real going over, after finding themselves three down when they could easily have conceded even more.

“It wasn’t good in that first half hour, we didn’t start well, were passive, didn’t put tackles in and didn’t win a header in our own box," Wright said.

“It looked like some of them froze a little bit.

“It was poor stuff and at 3-0 you just hope to get to half time and have a word with them.

“Having been beaten 7-0 by them this season they had to show character and they did, so that was the positive thing for us.

“After 30 minutes we would have taken 3-0 but that first half hour was poor.

“There is a gulf in class but we all have to deal with it.

“And I have to give them credit for the way they played in the last hour of the game, though.”

Wright is hoping to bolster his squad further by the close of the transfer window after giving debutant Jamie McCart a home bow last night at half-time following his move from Inverness.

“We have two offers in for players on loan and I think it will happen," he said.

“We have worked hard this week, we brought Jamie in the other day.

“This window is mad but I would imagine we will have at least one player in.”