Callum Davidson hasn’t completely given up hope of Zander Clark staying at St Johnstone – with a contract offer for the double-winning goalkeeper still on the table.
But the Perth boss is a realist and has drawn up a shortlist of half a dozen candidates to replace the Scotland squad man, who has been linked with Dundee United and a move to England.
And talks have already taken place with potential new recruits to make sure a priority position is filled, as Davidson admitted “it’s one we need to get right”.
“We have been working hard for months on the goalkeeping position because Zander was the player we most expected to move on,” he said.
“I have been working closely with Paul Mathers to identify goalkeepers we think can come here and do a job for us.
“We have five or six targets drawn up and the conversations have been happening to see which of them we can get.
“We need someone capable of coming here and going straight in as number one.
“Zander has been such a key part of St Johnstone and he’s showed, as well as Alan Mannus before him, how important it is to have a strong number one.
“It’s a really important position and one we need to get right.”
What a relief that was last night ! Not the season we had hoped for but delighted to end it on a positive note and keep the club in the league where it should be @stjohnstoneofficial 💙 https://t.co/hBUgJo9YTn
— ZanderClark (@Zanderr1) May 24, 2022
With Callum Hendry and Jamie McCart in the same boat as Clark, Saints are still waiting on definitive answers from them as well.
“We have made the best offers we can to Zander, Callum and Jamie,” he reported.
“The club has spoken to them.
“The offers are there and we will just have to wait and see what they decide to do.”
Exemplary attitude
Davidson added: “What I will say about the lads, and Shaun Rooney as well, is they were all brilliant for me right up to the final minute of the last game of the season.
“Their attitudes were exemplary. They were dedicated to keeping St Johnstone in the league even though they might be leaving.
“So I’d love to keep all three of them but we know that even with our best offers we won’t be able to match what other clubs can put in front of them.
“Sadly that’s just a fact of life and there’s nothing we can do about that.
“I’m still hopeful they’ll come back to me and say they want to stay, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
“My job is to make sure we have people lined up to replace them and the work on that has been happening for some time now.”
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