Callum Hendry ended up “trying too hard” to get back on the goal-scoring trail with St Johnstone, according to manager Callum Davidson.
And a loan spell with Kilmarnock gives him the best chance to start finding the net again.
Hendry was Saints’ leading marksman in the season before Davidson took over at McDiarmid Park.
But despite being a regular starter under the Perth boss in the early months of 2020/21, the goals dried up.
After a loan to Aberdeen in the second half of that campaign, Hendry returned to the club and played eight times at the beginning of this one.
However the barren run continued and now Davidson is hoping that reuniting with Tommy Wright at Rugby Park will kick-start his career.
“It was a hard one with Callum,” he said. “Similar to last season.
“He’s going out to play games.
“If he’d decided he wanted to stay I’d have been quite happy with that but I think it’s the right sort of move for Callum.
“He’s probably not played enough football.
“He started a lot for me in that first period but he just didn’t score.
“That then became a bit of an issue.
“Callum is a great boy and he probably ended up trying too hard. It’s one of them – other guys have come in and scored goals.
“It’s as simple as that.
“Sometimes I play the three up front and that probably doesn’t suit him best.
“It’s about being fair to Callum and making sure he gets enough game-time between now and January and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Delighted to be here 😄⚽️ https://t.co/MNH0Gc9hOz
— Callum Hendry (@Callum_Hendry) September 29, 2021
Hendry’s loan is for the full season, while Cammy Ballantyne has returned for a third stint with Montrose until January.
“We’re trying to develop for the future,” Davidson added.
“We’ve got a few older midfielders and it’s about making sure we have the right pathway for the ones behind them – Charlie (Gilmour), Cammy, Fergie (Alex Ferguson) and Max (Kucheriavyi).
“We’ve got four or five really good young midfielders.
“Young Jordan Northcott might go out on loan and possibly Charlie. We’ll wait and see.”
Liam Gordon back running
Meanwhile, Liam Gordon has taken the next step on his road to recovery.
“Hopefully we’ll have him back after the international break,” Davidson reported.
“He started running today which is good news.
“With that type of injury you need to make it a slow build-up. You can’t accelerate it and we’ll make sure he’s 100% before he comes back.”
