Cole’s warning to Caulker

St Mirren defender Cole Kpekawa insists he will put friendship aside in order to get the Paisley side off to a winning start in the Premiership.

The summer signing is set to battle it out against his former Queen’s Park Rangers teammate Steven Caulker when the former England international comes to town with Dundee this afternoon.

Kpekawa credits Caulker’s part in his development as a youngster at Loftus Road as the 22- yearold, himself an ex-England youth international, was taken under Caulker’s wing when he was trying to break into the QPR first team.

Kpekawa eventually departed for pastures new, taking in stints at Barnsley and Colchester United prior to signing for St Mirren, but he still holds Caulker in high regard for his words of wisdom.

However, he says there will be no time for niceties come 3pm this afternoon as the Buddies look to get off to a flyer upon their return to the top flight.

Kpekawa said: “I worked with Steven Caulker – we were together for a few years at Queen’s Park Rangers so I know him well.

“Steven is a very good player. We played quite a lot at Loftus Road and I was a bit surprised when he moved to Dundee but it’s his career.

“He seems to be doing well with them – he’s one of their big-name players and a big part of their side. I was a kid who’d just broken into the first team at QPR and, with me being a defender as well, he helped me a lot.

“Steven is a very good guy but he won’t be my mate this weekend. I can tell him now that there won’t be any friendship on the pitch.”

Despite admitting he didn’t know too much about the Scottish game before making his summer switch, Kpekawa admits he has quickly learned that no side can be taken lightly following hard-fought clashes with Spartans and Queen’s Park.

Kpekawa added: “Personally, I’m expecting this to be a tough league. You play against a lot of big teams – and not just Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen but the clubs who’ll be around us.”