Callum Davidson made a full team’s worth of summer signings for St Johnstone.
And you could put forward a strong argument that Andy Considine has been the most important of the lot.
There were cynics who questioned the value of handing a two-year deal to a 35-year-old not long back from a serious injury.
But Davidson put his faith in the former Aberdeen man’s ability to help knit together his new-look side and his dressing room.
And the Perth boss certainly hasn’t been disappointed, with the Scotland international hardly putting a foot wrong as a Premiership regular and providing leadership behind the scenes.
Andy Considine GOAL v Hearts. 2-2.#SJFC #HMFC #StJohnstone pic.twitter.com/mYNSZ5k2AS
— Leroi Jackson (@LeroiJackson16) August 28, 2022
“Andy was out for a long time with an injury,” said Davidson.
“He’s come back and I’ve had to play him in a lot of games.
“Now we see the benefits of the way he plays, defends and leads the defence.
“Andy has brought so much more than his defending. He’s a really experienced player, he knows how to cajole the boys, get into them in training.
“It’s really good and I think it’s helped Alex Mitchell beside him who’s a young man.
“And he’s got young Adam Montgomery the other side of him so there’s two guys who can run beside him. It’s a really good balance.”
Settled back three
Considine, Mitchell and Ryan McGowan will take some shifting from the Saints starting line-up.
But Davidson knows the pressure on them will be intense as the season progresses.
“It’s up to every player to prove themselves,” he said.
“We’ve got Liam Gordon and James Brown sitting there desperate to get in.
“As a back line, you need to be patient.
“If the team is defending well as a group then it’s harder for players to get in.
“But I’d rather have that problem than us leaking too many goals from open play.
“I think we can do better from set-pieces. But from open play we’ve been quite solid.”
Montgomery, called up for the Scotland under-21s, will have Tony Gallacher as a left wing-back rival after the international break.
“That’s why you have a squad,” said Davidson. “That’s what we’ve lacked a little bit in the past.
“This is the first time I’ve got a double-up in positions. There’s competition in every position which great for me.
“Adam is great running without the ball. That’s his biggest strength. When he gets into that final third he probably doesn’t cross the ball as much.
“But when he gets into those areas, the penalty box, he’s composed. He can pick passes out. I felt he did that really well last weekend.”
Two in a row
It took until April for Saints to register back to back league wins last season.
Davidson wants that box ticked for 2022/23 at Rugby Park on Saturday, if the game goes ahead in the week of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
“Kilmarnock are a strong defensive unit and have good centre forwards,” he said.
🎙Derek McInnes | We were good in the game
— Kilmarnock FC (@KilmarnockFC) September 3, 2022
“It’s going to be a really tough game on the plastic pitch.
“I was really pleased with how we did the basics last Saturday – the first contact, second contact, things like that.
“It’s the same again this Saturday. We can’t drop our standards on that one. For me that gives you the chance to win the game.
“It’s nice we’ve managed to win a couple from a difficult start. It’s important we try and push forward from here.”
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