Replacing Ali McCann like-for-like was never going to be a realistic option for St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson.
But recruiting Cammy MacPherson was the next best thing.
The loan signing from St Mirren got his Perth career off to a frustrating start when he dislocated a shoulder minutes into a closed-doors match.
But the 22-year-old made a quick recovery and played the last half-hour of Saints’ recent 3-1 victory against Dundee.
“Getting Cammy back is great for us because he’s going to add what we’ve been missing since Ali left,” said the McDiarmid Park boss.
“He can do a bit of everything. He’s very good on the ball and he can get up and down the pitch.
“He can spray passes around and get forward, so we’re excited to see what he gives us.
“He’s not Ali. Not many people can match Ali’s ability to cover the pitch but he’s a good replacement.”
Options and more options
McCann and Jason Kerr were high profile and big money deadline day departures but the subsequent weeks have seen both their parts of the Saints team become areas of strength.
“It’s great to have so many options,” said Davidson.
“James Brown has been a surprise too because he’s the one we didn’t really expect in there.
“But the way he’s played, I can see him playing that position more and more in future.
“It’s great for me to have that because with Shaun Rooney as well, we have loads of options.
“I always think if you don’t lose goals you don’t lose games, so our defensive record has been pleasing.”
Stevie May doing Stevie May things ⚽️ #SJFC pic.twitter.com/BytUJBMYoc
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) October 6, 2021
He added: “We have needed to add more goals and it was great for both strikers to score against Dundee.
“Stevie (May) has been really good in training and when he’s come on in games, so I wanted to put him there alongside Kano (Chris Kane).
“We haven’t played them together too often but it has always been an option, so it was good to see it pay off.
“They combined really well. Their play was good over and above they got goals.”
