Chris Kane proved against Aberdeen that he is now ready for the Premiership, according to his manager.
St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright has farmed his young forward out on two loan spells at Dumbarton, the second of which came to an end just over a week ago.
Kane hasn’t had to wait long for his first team break in Perth, as a substitute’s appearance in Inverness was swiftly followed by a start on Friday night.
And Wright believes his performance against the Dons in the 1-1 draw showed the value of those loans and the quality of the player that Saints now have at their disposal.
“I wanted to get Chris game time out on loan,” he said. “It was done for a purpose and it has been the best thing for him.
“He’s played regularly, he’s come back in good shape and you can see he’s learned from it.
“I thought he was outstanding against Aberdeen.
“He played against a very good defence and gave them a hard night.
“One thing we know we get from him is hard work and I felt the way he played got us higher up the pitch.
“He defended from the front, linked the play up well and with a little bit more composure would have got off the mark with a goal.
“Overall I was delighted with his performance and he’s a player I think can do really well for us now.”
It wasn’t just Kane who pleased Wright in the Aberdeen match.
He explained: “We are at our best when we play with intensity and that’s what I thought we did on Friday night.
“The performance on Tuesday wasn’t like us and I was happy to see us get back to doing the things we’re good at.
“We had a lot of players missing but the guys who came in all did well and it showed we have a strong squad.
“If we play like we did on Friday most weeks we’ll win more than we lose, that’s for sure.
“The performance showed what we’re all about and now we have to keep it going.”
The Saints manager revealed that a talk with Friday’s goalscorer, Simon Lappin, has paid dividends.
He said: “I had a chat with Simon about his quality on the ball because we know what he’s capable of.
“On the ball it probably hadn’t been as good as when he first came here, but I thought he played very well.
“It was a cracking goal, with his right foot as well, so I’m delighted with him.”
Meanwhile, Wright doesn’t expect to bring anybody into the club before the transfer window closes.
“Would I like to freshen it up and bring someone in?” he asked. “Yes.
“But will it happen? Probably no.
“We have Chris, Tam Scobbie and Steven MacLean all back now so the squad is ticking along nicely.”