Connor McLennan has signed for St Johnstone to be a first team regular.
But the on-loan Aberdeen attacker knows he’s got a fight on his hands to make that happen.
The former Scotland under-21 international drifted out of contention at Pittodrie under Jim Goodwin and making the switch to Saints was his first preference when the green light was given for departure.
After making an impact off the bench on his debut, winning the penalty for the Perth side’s third goal in the convincing victory over St Mirren, McLennan set his sights on upping his Premiership game-time over the next few months.
“It’s a great start,” he said.
“That was exactly what we were looking for – three points and a few goals.
“I just met the boys on Friday so it was great to get on the pitch with them and help out.
“When you come on as a sub you want to make an impact.
“There’s great competition for places here.
“I know it won’t be easy to get in the team.
“It’s a bit boring but I just want to play as much as possible and win as much as possible.
“I’ll take it game by game and hopefully there are a lot more Saturdays like this one for the team.”
A wanted man
Callum Davidson’s persistence paid off when it came to clinching McLennan’s deadline day transfer.
“I had a lot of chats with the gaffer here,” he said.
“He’s been keen to bring me here for a while, which was a compliment and I was buzzing to get the deal done in the end.
“This is where I wanted to come.
“I’ve not played a lot of football recently and I want to change that.
“This a great club.
“The conversations with the manager were really positive and I’m excited about what we can do this season.
“I spoke to Andy Considine and Adam Montgomery, who I played with at Aberdeen. And I know Tony Gallacher from the Scotland under-21s.
“You can see quality right through the team – and on the bench.
“Plus we’ve got some really good players to come back from injury.
“I wasn’t surprised to see us win well like that and hopefully we can do that regularly.”
Versatility
McLennan won’t be making any positional demands on his new head coach.
“I like playing wide and up top,” he said.
“It can vary game by game depending on what formation we’re playing and what the manager wants me to do.
“I’ll be happy anywhere.
“It was 50/50 at Aberdeen.”
𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸 – 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻 🎙@nickyclark91 spoke to #SaintsTV after our 3-0 win over @saintmirrenfc 🎉
1st start ✅
1st goal ✅
Wind affecting audio✅How would you rate his debut this afternoon? 🤩#SJFC | @spfl | pic.twitter.com/2WdIYa5kZ6
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) September 3, 2022
McLennan didn’t share a pitch with fellow Saints new boy, Nicky Clark, on Saturday but he believes the two of them will click.
“He’s not the biggest but he holds the ball up really well,” he said.
“And he’s got an eye for goal as well, as everybody knows.
“That’s exactly what you want from a striker.
“I’d love to get on the park with him and I’m sure we’ll link-up well.”
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