St Johnstone forward Nigel Hasselbaink feels Stevie May has what it takes to emulate his former Hamilton team-mates James McArthur and James McCarthy by earning a senior international call-up.
McArthur was a hit at Hamilton and now has 14 Scotland caps to his name following his move to Wigan in 2010, while ex-Accies midfielder McCarthy has gone on to establish himself in the Republic of Ireland set-up.
Hasselbaink has seen first hand what both former Accies sensations could do and sees no reason why May, who was on sensational form while on loan at Hamilton last season, can’t follow in their footsteps.
He explained: “Stevie is doing really well for us this season and even in the last couple of years he went on loan and scored something like 50 goals.
“He’s started this season really well and I think he can go up to a higher level as well. We just need to keep the standard up.
“He’s at the same standard as the likes of James McCarthy and James McArthur because you see what he brings to the table.
“He’s a striker and he makes goals for the team, but he works hard for the team as well.
“I think Stevie is now 20, so he’s still young. I saw the game when he played with the Scotland Under 21s at St Mirren Park and scored a goal there, so if he gets a chance to get into the squad I think Stevie will take it with both hands.”
Steven MacLean’s injury meant Hasselbaink found himself up front with May at home to Motherwell on Sunday and it was a partnership that worked to great effect as Saints ran out 2-0 winners at McDiarmid Park.
“It was a good team performance,” he added. “We’ve been playing well the last couple of weeks as well but just the points were missing, so to get three points is a good feeling for the boys.
“We haven’t played up front together because Macca is there but it’s always good to play with Stevie May and in training we link up well, so hopefully we can continue.
“Even if Stevie MacLean wasn’t injured I play on the wing and I don’t mind playing there, so I like to play with Stevie MacLean in the team as well because he’s been doing well for us.
“So it’s not really a big deal for me if it’s Stevie MacLean or Stevie May. It was a good partnership against Motherwell and both of us brought loads of energy to the game.
“We were pressing, we were keeping the ball for the team and doing everything together because we speak to each other. So I like to play with Stevie up front and hopefully we can continue scoring goals.”
There was more than a bit of fortune involved in the lead-up to Hasselbaink’s goal on Sunday as a slip by Gunnar Nielsen gifted the Dutchman with the opportunity but the 22-year-old still had to covert the chance from a tight angle.
“It was a bit of luck. The Motherwell player played the ball back to the keeper but I’m a striker and just had to keep pressing the keeper,” Hasselbaink said.
“If you don’t press you’re not going to get the ball. I just pressed the keeper and the keeper gave the ball to my feet, so I just finished it off.”
Attention now turns to Cappielow tomorrow night and Hasselbaink is determined to see Saints make it through to the League Cup semi-finals at Morton’s expense.
He concluded: “It’s a really big game for us because we want to get as far as possible in the cup. It’s important for us to go and try to win something, so it’s a very important game for us on Wednesday.”