Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Kerr has gone from rookie to veteran in the space of a season
AT the start of this season Jason Kerr was a rookie skipper about to learn on the job.
At the start of the next one the 23-year-old will have the armband experience of a veteran to help in the St Johnstone leadership role.
The highs and lows of a Premiership campaign that included a calamitous start and a magnificent bounce-back gave a crash course on captaincy at the top level.
But nothing could have prepared the Perth defender for the situation he now finds himself in – being a lockdown focal point for team-mates and supporters coming to terms with a long and uncertain football-free hiatus.
“It’s been an incredible season to have as my first as captain,” he said.
“People were questioning whether I should have been made captain i n the summer because of my age. And then the spotlight was really on me when results weren’t great for the first few months,” he said.
“We turned the tide and have been playing well for a while now.
“The ti ming of the season being stopped was really frustrating because we were playing so well and I’m sure that we would have got even better.
He said: “I’ve been put in situations that you could never have predicted. They’ve matured me as a person. The season before I was still just a young player coming through and I only really had to worry about myself and how I was playing.
“Now, as the captain of the team, I’m focused on other players as well – both on the pitch and off it. I’ve enjoyed all the responsibilities that go with the captaincy role.”