St Johnstone have completed the short-term signing of free agent striker Danny Invincibile, and the Australian will go straight into the squad for Sunday’s match against Rangers.
The former Kilmarnock forward turned his back on more lucrative offers from clubs in England, Greece and Asia to pledge himself to the Perth club through to the summer.
The 31-year-old said, “We have agreed a deal until May, but who knows what might happen after that if everything works out well for me and the club?
“I’m delighted to get back into football after coming to an agreement with Kilmarnock to leave in the transfer window.
“After some great years at Rugby Park I wasn’t playing regularly in the first half of the season and that wasn’t fair on me or the club.
“It was just so frustrating. You are trying to do your job as a footballer but not getting games.”
Invincibile explained, “I’m not the type to sit around picking up the cash and not playing. So Killie and I came to a joint decision.”
He said, “As soon as I spoke to (Saints boss) Derek McInnes my mind was made up.
“Saints are in a great position to push for the top six and they have a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie coming up at Brechin.
“These are exciting times for the club, and I want to be part of it.”
Invincible, who made his last appearance for Killie against Saints in November, hoped to team up with close pal and former Swindon team-mate Sam Parkin.
However, Parkin broke his ankle earlier in the week and is out for the season.
Invincibile is up for the challenge if McInnes decides to throw him in at the Ibrox deep end.
“I might not be match fit if I am being totally honest, but I would be happy to face Rangers,” he said.Adrenaline”That’s the type of game everyone wants to play in, and adrenaline would see me through.
“Rangers got a great result in Europe against Sporting Lisbon coming off the back of the Celtic defeat.
“The Old Firm are always disciplined and they have good squads.
“There’s no way Rangers will be complacent against us because they still have a title to play for.
“This is the business end of the season, but we have to go there and take the game to them and show we are confident of getting a result.
“There aren’t many games left and we want to get into the top six.
“If we taken something from this game it would be a massive boost.”
McInnes said, “With the departure of Stevie Milne and Scott Dobie and now the injury to Sam, we are a bit light up top.
“Danny has SPL experience and knows the league well. He can give us options and he has a bit of presence and pace.
“He hasn’t played many games of late, but hopefully we will get the benefit of the frustration that has been building.
“Hopefully he can come in and do us a turn.”
McInnes, who could restore midfielder Kevin Moon to the squad after a year-long absence, wasn’t surprised to see Rangers bouncing back in Europe.
He observed, “Only a fool would write off Rangers just because they had a bad day against Celtic, but we are going there looking for a result.”
Chris Millar is ruled out with a hamstring strain, but Jody Morris and Jamie Adams could both be available despite having back and ankle problems respectively.
Meanwhile, Nikica Jelavic is set to return for Rangers.
The striker was ineligible for the Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday, but is back in contention for the weekend.
Steven Naismith (hamstring) and Jamie Ness (groin) missed the trip to Lisbon and are expected to be out for another two weeks, while Kirk Broadfoot, Lee McCulloch and Andrew Little remain on the sidelines.