Melker Hallberg was St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson’s prime midfield January target.
And by establishing himself as one of the key factors in the Perth side’s recent Premiership revival, it is clear to all why that was the case.
But Davidson has revealed that up until the moment the former Hibs man arrived at McDiarmid Park to put pen to paper, he feared he had missed out.
“I didn’t think I’d get Melker, to be honest, because right until the last minute it looked like he was going back to Sweden,” said the Saints boss.
“He was finishing up at Hibs and it looked as though he was heading home.
“But thankfully we managed to persuade him very late on and you can see how important he’s been since joining us.
“We knew what we were getting.
“I’d liked him in the summer just past and also the previous summer.
“He was sold for a big fee to Italy earlier in his career and has played for Sweden, so that shows the quality he’s got.
“He’s someone I always admired so it’s great to get him and see him performing for us now.”
📹🎙| Here is the alternative angle for our 2nd goal!
Hallberg assist 🔮
McCart header 🎯
Run away from our camera 😐#SJFC #SaintsTV pic.twitter.com/AUDjTrCZGM— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) February 21, 2022
Hallberg has yet to taste defeat for his new club – winning two matches and drawing two.
There were a pair of assists in the 2-1 defeat of Hearts at the weekend and Davidson always knew there would be far more to his game than breaking up play and protecting the backline.
Quality
“Melker’s energy levels and composure on the ball have really made a difference in the last few weeks,” he said.
“He’s positive, he makes things happen and is very good going box to box.
“We had been needing that.
“We were keen to get someone who could play that role and Melker has brought it.
“He wanted to come here and play, he’s doing that and you can see his quality.”
As with all good players, their influence extends beyond their own individual impact on games.
“Melker’s given the players around him a lift,” said Davidson. “Ali Crawford has been scoring goals.
“Ali has quality and we saw that every day in training.
“He’s capable of scoring goals and that’s what he’s been doing for us recently.
“I brought him in to push David Wotherspoon because they are similar kind of players.
“What you are seeing with Ali now is we’re able to play him in a more natural role because the better football we play the better he is.
“When you’re defending the less you’ll see of him but the higher up the pitch we play then the more he comes to life.
“Previously I think he was standing in good areas but we were not getting him on the ball enough in places where he can hurt teams.
“What you’ve seen in the last few games is we’re doing that and Ali is responding to that.”
Injury update
Crawford’s form resurgence has been mirrored by several others who were toiling before the mid-season break.
“It has been an ongoing process to get the confidence back and the new faces have helped,” said Davidson.
“We all know what we need to do and what we have to achieve.
“The response since Kelty has been very good.
“We want to put pressure on Ross County this weekend and close the gap a little bit.”
Davidson reported that injured goalkeeper Zander Clark “should be close to being fit” for the weekend trip to Dingwall.
Callum Hendry “played through the pain against Hearts and should be OK again” but Callum Booth is “a few weeks away”.
