New St Johnstone striker Benji Kimpioka has been too hard on himself, according to manager Craig Levein.
After arriving at the beginning of this month from Sweden, the former Sunderland forward started in Saints’ defeat to Airdrie and draw with Motherwell, and came off the bench in the fixture against Aberdeen in between.
Kimpioka’s raw pace has got him into a few promising positions but he’s yet to score.
And Levein believes the less stressed he is, the better he’ll become.
“Benji is a wee bit nervous at the moment,” said the Perth boss. “He’s just settling in.
“He’s been improving in training and his finishing is getting better.
“The more he just comes in and actually relaxes, the better.
“He was eager to please and he’s hard on himself.
“Sometimes that’s not a good thing.
“If you’re conscientious and hard on yourself, it can linger.
“But I think he will get there.
“To be fair, we’ve got a good group of players who are conscientious.”
Smith and Keltjens impress
Loan signing Kerr Smith has yet to get game-time – with Liam Gordon likely to miss out at the weekend, that may come in Dingwall on Saturday.
But fellow new recruits, Connor Smith and David Keltjens, have already caught the eye.
“Connor has been really good in training the last few days,” said Levein. “I’m really excited about him.
“Technically, he’s very good and he’s a really fit boy.
“And I’ve been really chuffed with David.
“After not playing for such a long time, he’s picked it up.
“He’s aggressive, quick and good on the ball.
“I was worried about him playing that second match.
“I thought it would be tough going for him but he dug in and did well.
“I’m quite pleased we’ve only Saturday to worry about this week.
“You do a fair amount of work at the end of the break to try and get you back to where you were.
“Then you hit three matches in the week.
“We’ve not quite been at our best and really disappointed at Airdrie.
“And Benji will get better in time. I think we’ve strengthened.”
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