Dargo the butt of Buddies' jokes

By John Barnes

Dargo has been enduring a hard time from his team-mates

Not only does Craig Dargo have a new injury to contend with, but he also has to deal with ribbing from team-mates.

The St Mirren striker, who has been hampered by injury over the past two seasons, is sidelined for the next three weeks with a shoulder problem.

And his manager, Gus MacPherson, revealed that it gave the other players the opportunity to tease him about his latest set-back.

MacPherson said: "Someone asked him 'are you taking the mickey again?'"

St Mirren are looking for a third consecutive Scottish Premier League victory against Motherwell on Saturday, with Dargo on target in both of the previous triumphs.

And, while MacPherson is frustrated at losing an in-form player, he also appreciates the dressing-room banter.

"The players consistently wind him up about everything and anything and this was one of those occasions," he said.

Craig's really down and I'd much rather see that than a player walking about with a smile on his face if he's injured St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson

"Craig's the type of guy that bites and takes the bait at every opportunity. That's why he gets even more criticism.

"It also shows there's a really good team spirit amongst the players and that's great to see."

Dargo joined St Mirren in 2007 from Inverness Caledonian Thistle and missed the first six months of his first season with the Paisley outfit.

This term, he has featured in 10 of their 11 matches.

"He's had a fantastic start to the season," admitted MacPherson.

"He worked extremely hard during the summer, came back in good condition and he's now getting his rewards for that getting his name on the score-sheet in the last two games.

"But injuries are part and parcel of the game and nobody's more frustrated than him.

"He's really down and I'd much rather see that than a player walking about with a smile on his face if he's injured."

MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your reaction to Craig Dargo and the game against Motherwell

Following Saturday's league clash, the west coast rivals meet again on Tuesday in the Co-operative Insurance Cup.

A win for the Buddies in the first encounter would see them go above fifth-placed Motherwell, while a place in the last four of the cup competition is up for grabs.

"We want to try and build on our last two wins over Hearts and Falkirk," added MacPherson.

"There's been a lot of positive aspects to the way we've started the season.

"Hopefully, we can get a lot more consistency into our game that enables us to pick up more points."