Liam Gordon won’t face St Johnstone with Motherwell while Saints hope for signing boost

Former St Johnstone captain, Liam Gordon, won’t be able to play against his old club this weekend.

Gordon, who joined Motherwell in the summer, picked up a red card and a two-game ban after a late sending-off against Celtic last month.

The first match of the suspension was served in the Fir Park side’s victory over Dundee United at Tannadice.

A change in rules to make bans competition-specific meant that Gordon was available to play against Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final, so his second game is Saturday’s clash with Saints.

Motherwell boss, Stuart Kettlewell, was adamant that his player shouldn’t have been red-carded for his challenge on Adam Idah.

He said: “We’ll all have a view on it when we analyse it and look back on it.

“I just feel it is so harsh to give the red card. The referee has a look at it and he can see that big Liam has made contact, but the first thing you start to see on the screen is still images and it looks bad, of course.”

Saints will be hoping that their new centre-back, Bozo Mikulic, is available.

The Croatian has yet to secure his work permit but Courier Sport understands it is expected to be in place in time for Saturday’s game.