The next generation of St Johnstone stars are to get their first team chance in the New Year, Perth boss Derek McInnes has revealed.
Teenage striker Stevie May has been tipped as a top team regular of the future, while Liam Caddis, Mark Durnan, Stephen Reynolds and Ricky McIntosh should all also get game time over the next few months, McInnes has pledged.
A sign of the manager’s faith in May, in particular, was the fact that he sent him on as a late substitute at Celtic Park on Sunday while the game was still in the balance.
He said, “I really like Stevie. He’s a boy I’m confident will have a good career in football and will feature in St Johnstone’s first team on a consistent basis.
“I had toyed with the idea of putting him in before the Celtic match and with involving him regularly.
“Part of the reason I’ve not put him out on loan is that I see him learning his game with us.
“I’ve already seen a big improvement in Stevie from when he was a young player.
“There’s a zest and freshness about his game and there are goals in him.
“He can play across the frontline in three or four positions but his best position will be up front off the main striker.
“On Sunday he came on and gave us legs. He helped us get behind Celtic and that’s a quality he’s got. I rate him really highly.”
On the rest of the crop of 17 and 18-year-olds, McInnes observed, “We’ve now got Durnan and Reynolds back from their loan spells (at Arbroath and Ayr United respectively). There’s also McIntosh and Caddis.
“All five will feature in the first team in the months ahead.”
Meanwhile, McInnes reported that had the Rangers game gone ahead last night Murray Davidson would have been available.
Should there be no mishaps in training the influential midfielder is therefore expected to be fit in time for the visit of Inverness Caley Thistle on Sunday.
He said, “With Jody Morris and Jamie Adams also back we should be well off for central midfielders, which is a bonus.”