Exclusive: Richard Tait opens up on decision to play through pain barrier as St Mirren defender steps up rehab from groin injury

Richard Tait admits St Mirren physio Gerry Docherty has had to ‘keep the reins’ on him as he closes in on a return to action - almost two months after undergoing surgery on a troublesome groin injury.

Buddies boss Stephen Robinson initially feared the versatile defender’s season was over after the 33-year-old decided to play through the pain barrier before eventually going under knife prior to the World Cup break.

The Paisley club had expected Tait to be available for selection by the end of February, but the former Motherwell full-back has confessed he is ahead of scheduled in his rehabilitation and is on course to mark his return against his old club on January 28th.

Tait, a fitness enthusiast, has been combining his playing career with a coaching role at CrossFit Glasgow. He reckons that has had a positive mental impact on his recovery.

“I was playing for a little bit while I was in pain,” said Tait, speaking at Hampden Park to promote the new 2022/23 SPFL Match Attax collection. “We played against Hibs away and I just didn’t feel good at all. That was probably the game that I thought ‘I need to get something done here’.

“I went down to see the surgeon just before the break and he thought it would be a good idea to avoid having surgery and get an injection instead and see if time will help it but that never seemed to work. I’m feeling a lot better now since getting it done.

“Obviously it takes a bit of time and it’s frustrating because I’ve not been injured for that full amount of time but it feels like I have as I’d been waiting on surgery and taking it step by step. Gerry (Docherty), the physio, has been great. He’s been trying to keep the reins on me and holding me back a bit which is totally fine. I know I need to be 100 per cent right to get back to training.

“I’m back in running this week and it’s feeling OK. All being well, hopefully I’ll be back in two or three weeks so fingers crossed. I’ve been doing some coaching at CrossFit while I’ve been out. Like many of the lads, I can see myself going down that route after I finish playing football.”

Saints have had to settle for back-to-back draws in the Scottish Premiership against Livingston (1-1) and Kilmarnock (0-0) in recent weeks but Tait is convinced the stalemate at Rugby Park on Monday emphasised their battling qualities after losing midfielder Ethan Erhahon to a seventh-minute red card.

He exclusively told GlasgowWorld: “I think it showed the tremendous togetherness we have. Obviously going down to ten men early doors, a lot of supporters might have been fearing the worst but sitting on the sidelines I was convinced Kilmarnock weren’t going to score. Even if they did get an opportunity, Trevor (Carson) was there to make a big save. It showed we’re really well drilled.

“If anything I think that was the best clean sheet we’ve had all year. The boys deserved it, they put so much into the game. Everyone stuck to their jobs and it was a great defensive performance. In the same breath, there was opportunities for us to win it. I never thought we’d lose it.

“It’s always very frustrating when you’re not playing and are unable to help the boys out, but at the same time, it’s great to see the lads doing so and getting a bit of success at the minute in terms of picking up results.

“That’s the good thing we’ve got going at St Mirren is that everyone in the squad, whether you’re playing, on the bench or injured, we’re all fighting for the same thing. No matter who is in the starting 11, we’re all behind each other. There’s a feel-good factor around the team and we’re a really solid unit.

“It’s one of those changing rooms that just looks after itself, there’s no one who pushes the boundaries and think they can step out of line because there’s other boys who won’t let them do that. They’re a great bunch of lads and I really enjoying being a part of this squad.”

After agonisingly missing out on a place in the top-six over the past two seasons, Saints are looking to make sure it is third time lucky this term and Tait feels it is well within their grasp if they continue to perform and churn out victories.

He admitted: “I think it’s massive for the club. We’ve never finished in the top six before so it would be a big accolade if we manage to achieve that. The first season I was here, we missed out with a draw at Hamilton and we missed out narrowly again last season as well, so it would be a tremendous achievement if we could do it.

“Once you’re in that top six, you never know where you can go. You can maybe win a few more games and bump your position up a little bit, so that is definitely the main objective. We’re on course to do that at the moment but we know we’ve still got a lot of work to do. “

Tait, one of the club’s elder statesman in the current squad, revealed he would love to see out the rest of his playing days in Paisley. He stated: “I’m 33 now and probably getting towards the back end of my career. It’s not up to me to decide, but I really enjoy being at St Mirren.

“The fans have come out in force this year. It’s not something I’m thinking too much about at the moment. Personally, I’m just looking to get back to full fitness and get back in the team. I want to help the boys out as much as possible.”

*Richard Tait helped launch the new 2022/23 SPFL Match Attax Collection, on sale now in Scottish retailers and via Topps.com.