SHOW ME THE MONEY
Callum gets go-ahead to bolster Saints squad despite £508k loss
CALLUM DAVIDSON has been given the green light to strengthen his St Johnstone squad in January, despite the club suffering a £508,000 loss last season.
In his report to shareholders for the financial year ending in May, chairman Steve Brown revealed Saints had eaten into around £1million of their rainyday savings 12 months ago – prompting them to take advantage of a £2.6m Scottish Government loan.
He said: “Given the most gloomy outlook at the start of the financial year, it is nothing short of remarkable that the club should enjoy its most successful football season ever.”
Since the accounts were signed off, double cup winners Saints have banked £1.8m from selling Jason Kerr and Ali McCann. And Brown has now assured the manager money will be made available to invest in the squad at the turn of the year.
Davidson said: “I have had positive conversations with the chairman. It’s going to be a big window for us.
“There are areas where we want to be better. We know what we want. The chairman has given me the go-ahead to see what is out there.
“But I will only bring in players I think will improve the team. We’re working hard to do that.”
Davidson admits he’s keen to get deals over the line in time to get new faces bedded in during the January break.
The Saints boss added: “It’s important we get them in early. I don’t like players coming in at the end of the window because it takes a few weeks to get them up to speed.
“It’s important to get them in at the start of the window and hopefully we can do that.”
Saints are struggling in 10th place and are in desperate need of a win over Ross County at McDiarmid Park today.
Davidson said: “It’s a dogfight. That’s where we are because the league is so tight, right up to fifth or sixth. We’ve celebrated the cup wins, now we have to look forward and ask how we can get better and climb the league.
“At the same time we want to make sure the fans are entertained and we give them something else to cheer.
“We’re going all out to make sure we work hard to earn the points against County and get the supporters right behind us.”
Recent arrival Viv SolomonOtabor, along with Finnish striker Eetu Vertainen, made a positive impression at Dens in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss.
And Davidson said: “We have more options up front. Viv is getting up to speed and Eetu again looked better.
“That’s a big positive for me with the run of games coming up.”
The Staggies’ form has picked up after a slow start to the season, with one loss in their last five games. They sit just three points behind Saints and Davidson added: “All the teams are trying to climb the league.
“We all know how tough it’s going to be. We have to make sure we’re ready for it.”