Callum Davidson has praised St Johnstone duo Shaun Rooney and Jamie McCart for their professionalism as transfer interest in them came to nothing.
Not only have the defensive duo reacted in the right way to the Perth club rejecting offers from Rotherham United and Hibs for their services, they have been leading the way in making sure the absence of the two players who did get deadline day moves out of McDiarmid Park does not have a lasting impact on Saints’ season.
“In the last couple of weeks they’ve been the ones who have been driving training and setting standards,” Davidson revealed.
“Their attitude has been fantastic in training and games. I could never have questioned their commitment.
“It was brilliant for me to see.
“They know that if there had been a decent offer they would probably have gone.
“If you play well here, we’ll help you progress.
“That’s the job of myself and St Johnstone – help players go on to bigger and better things while making the club successful.
“That’s what we did last season. It’s the ethos of the club.
“You do have a little bit of concern about what the squad will be like after losing Jason (Kerr) and Ali (McCann) but it’s a good group.
“They know that standards need to be maintained because if they aren’t, we’ll end up struggling.”
Follow my lead
Davidson signed a new contract ahead of the Rangers game and there could soon be players following his lead.
“I’d like to think so,” he said.
“We’re working hard behind the scenes to get a few boys tied up and to keep things moving in the right direction.
“You would need to ask the players if me signing a new contract makes a difference.
“I was obviously delighted to do it because there’s a lot of work to do and look forward to.
“It’s going to be hard to replicate what we achieved last season but we’ll be doing our best to do it and bring through young players at the same time.”
🆕🎥"My aim is to bring some good players through, build the team again and try bring more success in front of the supporters"
Callum Davidson spoke to #SaintsTV about his new contract and todays game.#SJFC pic.twitter.com/7iem6IuI7t
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) September 11, 2021
Davidson hopes to reap the benefits of a regular week’s training following a spell of European games and then an international break.
“This will be our first week of proper training since the middle of July,” he said.
“It’s important that we get the new players to understand how we work and that they are switched on.
“Average isn’t good enough in training. We work hard for a reason. We need everybody up to speed.”
Euro knock-on effect
Davidson, whose team face Aberdeen on Saturday, added: “Like us, they’ve had European football at the start of the season.
“That has a knock-on effect.
“You can even look at Rangers – who have a much bigger squad – and they’re struggling for centre-halves.
“I’ve got no doubts Stephen (Glass) will get them playing well and winning – just hopefully not this Saturday.”
