Tony Gallacher is relishing the wing-back shift at St Johnstone.
Now he is desperate to turn provider for the fledging strike partnership of Nicky Clark and Adama Sidibeh – starting on Saturday against Hibs.
Gallacher has been asked to flit between full-back and wing-back roles this season as Saints boss Craig Levein has experimented with different formations.
With Levein now increasingly comfortable playing two strikers, Gallacher’s role on the left looks likely to allow him the freedom to get forward more regularly.
It’s a situation that suits him just fine, particularly with Nicky Clark and Adama Sidibeh set to start up front.
“They are two different strikers so I know if I can hit a space I have options in front of me,” said Gallacher.
“Sometimes you can complicate it too much and with those two you know if you hit an area the pair of them will be onto it.
“Nicky can come deeper and Adama stretches the game in behind so I think they’re a good mix.
“I enjoy playing wing-back, it gives me the freedom to get forward more and be involved in the attacking play.
“Your starting position is higher and even when the ball is on the other side I find myself getting into the box.
“You have to be mindful of the defensive side too and I feel our shape has been decent.
“We will need to be solid this weekend because Hibs have a lot of attacking quality.
“So we’ll have to try to nullify them and get our players at the top end of the pitch involved in the right areas.”
Like the club’s supporters, Gallacher was blown away by Sidibeh’s stunning first goal for St Johnstone, arriving in the form of an overhead kick against Dundee last weekend.
Unlike fans, however, the 24-year-old gets to watch the Gambian striker in training – and what he has seen means he’s certain there’s more to come.
Gallacher said: “Adama’s goal was spectacular and that’s something we knew he had.
“He’s got great agility and technique so it wasn’t a huge surprise. Even for his height, he gets up in the air really well.
“Now he’s got a goal hopefully like most strikers he’ll go on a run now.
“From the moment he came in he slotted right in with the lads, he showed us what he can do on the training pitch and now the fans have seen it too.
“He’s taken the step up he’s made really well and there’s a lot more to come from him now he’s settling into the league.”
Meanwhile, with VAR impacting yet another St Johnstone game in a negative way last weekend, Gallacher is hoping for a quieter afternoon on the video front at Easter Road.
And he revealed the most frustrating thing about VAR interventions from a player’s perspective.
“Everyone wants to get through a game without talking about VAR but it’s not really working out like that at the moment,” said the former Liverpool kid.
“You can get annoyed by it but it’s out of your control, really.
“As players all we can do is focus, implement the things we want to do in the game and try to control what we can control.
“It’s the time it takes that I find frustrating because the gaps waiting for decisions or things being checked kills the momentum in the game.
“Sometimes you could be attacking and then there’s a stop, you’re standing still for a couple of minutes then when you do get going again it’s not the same.
“So, for me, the time it takes is the thing.
“Things going against you is obviously the number one concern but the time is something I think everyone gets frustrated by.”
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