St Johnstone have convinced two of their out of contract players to stay at McDiarmid Park.
And manager Steven MacLean is hoping that Melker Hallberg will follow the lead of Chris Kane and James Brown by making it a hat-trick.
Part of MacLean’s sales pitch to the Swedish midfielder has been the role he sees him filling in the Perth boss’s new-look side next season.
But the ball is now in Hallberg’s court as he weighs up his options.
“We’ve spoken to Melker and his agent and hopefully we’ll find out where we are soon,” MacLean reported.
“We’ve offered him a new deal –it’s the best that we can possibly do.
Morning Saints fans 👋🏻
Here is the footage of Melker’s goal from our 2-1 win over @dundeeunitedfc on Saturday 🤩#SJFC | @spfl pic.twitter.com/UnttsMnh1e
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) October 3, 2022
“Listen, I’d love him to stay.
“He knows how I see him fitting into the team and what I think of him as a player.
“It’s that higher midfielder position that he played against Hibs and Dundee United after I took over.
“I like to see him getting into the box, making runs and scoring goals.
“We’ll see where we are in the next few days.”
Brown can become more of an attacking threat
Meanwhile, MacLean believes Brown can take his career to the next level after signing a new one-year deal.
And that means impacting the game as an attacking asset.
“James showed in the last five games that he’s a good right-back,” said MacLean.
“He’s an international at a good age so he should want to play as high as he can.
“I think there’s more improvement to come. That’s a big thing for me.
“It’s up to him to go and do that.
“I don’t want to tempt fate but I don’t think many people have done him one v one.
“It’s a case of – can he improve on the attacking side of his game?
“Can he be a wee bit more adventurous in terms of backing himself and going forward more?
“He created the penalty in the last game against Livingston by helping out in attack.
“He was getting shots away in other matches.
“I want my full-backs to do that.
“It obviously depends on what formation we’re up against – if the opposition have got two strikers they need to tuck in a bit more – but if we’re against one striker I want my full-back to take their wide player back the way.”
🛍 @James_Brownn_ #SJFC | @spfl | pic.twitter.com/cuFGEUndkB
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) June 20, 2023
Brown’s run of starts after the Premiership split is a perfect example of MacLean’s selection ethos.
“I had a conversation with James before kick-off against Dundee United,” he said.
“Ryan McGowan pulled out just before the game, giving James his chance.
“I said to him: ‘If you play well and we win, you’ll stay in the team’.
“That’s my motto.
“Yes, players need to be given an opportunity but it’s up to them to pick themselves sometimes.”
