Callum Davidson made eight January signings in an attempt to turn St Johnstone’s season around.
Seven of them have now seen league action, with only former Derby County forward Jahmal Hector-Ingram yet to feature for his new club.
Courier Sport assesses how the recent recruits have performed so far.
Dan Cleary
Cleary arrived with the expectation and pressure of being the Jason Kerr replacement Saints were in such great need of.
The biggest of shoes to fill – as had become clear in the first half of the season – but it has been a very encouraging start.
The former Liverpool, Birmingham City and Dundalk centre-back is the real deal.
You could tell he was a bit rusty in his first game for the best part of a couple of months on debut at Tynecastle but since then he’s been a key man for Davidson – both in terms of his own work and team leadership.
Like Kerr, he takes the opportunity to drive forward when the chance presents itself, the value of which was shown with his assist for Callum Hendry’s opener against Livingston.
📹| Alternate Angle
Here is the behind the goal shot of @Callum_Hendry putting us ahead last night! #SJFC #UpLikeASalmon pic.twitter.com/XShQanagJH
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 2, 2022
Alan Forrest got the better of Cleary to set-up Livi’s equaliser that night but overall, the Irishman can be very satisfied with his first few hours of Scottish football.
Tony Gallacher
It was a baptism of fire for Gallacher in the Scottish Cup at Kelty.
He’d been one of Saints’ better performers in Fife and any time the team worked the ball into a position for him to cross, his delivery was pretty good.
However, being dispossessed for the winning goal in extra-time was a brutal lesson in the difference between development and first team football for the man who was signed from Liverpool.
Gallacher’s next start was against St Mirren.
It was an OK performance in general but he didn’t get tight enough to Greg Kiltie when he crossed for the Buddies’ second goal.
Physique, speed, touch and passing ability are all there – and Gallacher looks a shrewd long-term signing – but he hasn’t done enough yet to get ahead of Callum Booth when both are fit, I suspect.
Nadir Ciftci
The former Dundee United striker’s performance was the highlight of Saints’ defeat to Hearts.
His quick feet, high standard link-up play and willingness to shoot all caught the eye.
Ciftci was far quieter against Kelty and then only lasted a few minutes of the Dundee game before pulling up with a hamstring injury.
That he is expected to return at Aberdeen is a huge relief for Davidson – particularly with Chris Kane out for the season.
You can see Ciftci working well alongside Callum Hendry, Theo Bair or Glenn Middleton and he is the likeliest to come up with a bit of off-the-cuff magic to decide a tight game.
John Mahon
Like his fellow countryman Cleary, Mahon is a physically imposing centre-half and the word from the McDiarmid Park training ground was that he flew into tackles from day one.
That he was happy to sign on the weekend of Saints’ Kelty debacle, says everything about his mentality.
Mahon might not have quite been game-ready on arrival – Sligo Rovers were just returning for their pre-season – but he performed admirably at Livingston when coming on for Liam Gordon on the hour mark.
He missed the St Mirren game with illness. Given what we’ve seen, though, his first start won’t be far away.
A back three of Cleary, Gordon and Mahon shouldn’t lose many aerial battles, that’s for sure.
Melker Hallberg
Davidson had been tracking the Swedish international for some time and his patience was rewarded near the end of last month’s transfer window when Hallberg secured his release from Hibs and signed on at McDiarmid.
You could instantly see at Livingston the transformative potential the central midfield all-rounder offers for this Saints team.
He has presence, mobility and a sharp football brain.
Saints were well-placed to beat Dundee United before his soft red card.
And, if Davidson didn’t already know it, Hallberg’s importance in this relegation scrap was highlighted by his absence through suspension in Paisley.
Had he been on the pitch, it’s unlikely the Perth midfield would have been dominated in the second half of the contest.
The game was lost in the first 20 minutes after the break when, as this Opta heatmap of the midfielders on the pitch at the time shows, the central area outside Zander Clark’s box was over-run.
If Hallberg plays close to all of Saints’ remaining fixtures, and the squad isn’t further decimated in other areas, I believe they have an better than 50-50 chance of staying up.
He has probably already become THE most important player in this team.
Theo Bair
What can we glean from the Canadian striker’s half-hour against St Mirren?
That he’s as powerful as we were led to believe.
That he is far from slow but won’t be beating many centre-halves in a straight line sprint.
That his first touch is sound.
🎥 Clips from Theo Bair's St. Johnstone debut.
👉 You can see he's bulked up 💪
👉 Didn't have high xG/shots/box touches w/HamKam but he was clinical. Crucial for underachieving attack.
👉 Expect him to keep dropping deep to spread the ball & win aerial duels#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/ywLfLUR0qz— Peter Galindo (@GalindoPW) February 10, 2022
That his use of the ball will need to improve with his match sharpness (his passing accuracy was 40% last Wednesday).
That he will be best used through the middle – probably with Ciftci or Hendry off him.
And that his success will likely come down to the quality of the service his team-mates – predominantly the wing-backs – can provide him.
Tom Sang
Taken off after an hour as part of a triple substitution by Davidson and a change of formation, Sang had an underwhelming debut in Paisley.
Like Gallacher, he’s got the physical build and engine for the wing-back role but he didn’t really impose himself as an attacking threat.
And a passing accuracy total of 28% will have disappointed him.
Also like Gallacher, it’s far too early to make an informed judgment on Sang the wing-back, but any player who arrives from down south on loan to play that position will inevitably be compared to Danny McNamara.
Sang certainly hasn’t made himself an immediate must-pick as the Millwall man did.
He is viewed more as a midfielder than a wing-back by his current Cardiff manager so it will be intriguing to see if Davidson, who has lost Cammy MacPherson with a dislocated shoulder, decides to use the 22-year-old more centrally.
