St Johnstone have signed Stevenage midfielder James Dunne on a loan deal through to the end of the season.
And the 24-year-old former Arsenal man goes straight into the Perth squad alongside striker Chris Iwelumo for tonight’s derby clash with Dundee United.
The box-to-box midfielder, who has been recruited to replace injured Murray Davidson, made an eight-hour drive north to tie up the deal in time for training at rain-soaked McDiarmid.
He said: “It was a week ago that I first heard of St Johnstone’s interest and I got the call on Friday night that the deal was probably going to be on and I should have a bag packed to head north.
“I know the SPFL is a good quality league and I jumped at the chance to come up.
“This is a step up for me coming to Scotland. There was a managerial change from last season and for whatever reason I’ve not been getting regular games at Stevenage. It’s been very frustrating.
“We didn’t have the best of seasons as a club last year but on a personal level I got the awards from the fans and the players.
“But it hasn’t been happening for me this season. Now I can put it behind me and kick on.
“I haven’t played since before Christmas but I’ve been training and I’m ready if the manager wants me in the squad for the Dundee United game.”
Dunne starred at Exeter City for three years before a £125,000 switch to Stevenage.
He said: “I was at Arsenal as a kid to 18 or 19 and it is a club where you get a great grounding. But I left for Exeter and had three great years there.
“I was in the same group at Arsenal as left-back Keiran Gibbs we were quite close and midfielder Jack Wilshire, who is also now playing for England.
“They’ve done really well but most of the lads are playing somewhere or other in the Championship, League One or League Two.
“We got great coaching there and it has served me well.”
Dunne missed out on Stevenage’s weekend glamour FA Cup clash with Everton but he has the prospect of a League Cup semi-final with his new club against Aberdeen on Saturday, then a Scottish Cup last-16 clash the week after.
Saints manager Tommy Wright commented: “With Murray Davidson out for the rest of the season after knee surgery that changed our priorities a bit and James was on our radar.”