No old pals act

Jon Obika used to rub shoulders with Jermain Defoe on a daily basis.

But as the former Tottenham Hotspur teammates prepare to face one another on Sunday, Obika has promised all sentiment will go out the window in a bid to secure a precious three points.

St Mirren are currently in the midst of preparations for the weekend’s showdown with Rangers at the Simple Digital Arena.

The Glasgow side have started the Premiership season with two wins on the trot, Defoe aiding their cause with a hattrick against Hibs in their last outing ten days ago.

And having seen his friend find the back of the net – Obika is keen to replicate Defoe’s form as he searches for his first St Mirren strike.

He said: “The next game is huge so there is a lot of work to put in before then.

“I know Jermain Defoe quite well because we were at Spurs at the same time. But that can’t have a bearing on my game.

“He scored a hat- trick against Hibs last week so he has hit the ground running this season already. But you just have to look at his pedigree to know what kind of player he is. I am looking forward to that test of facing him again.”

St Mirren and Obika head into the clash full of confidence having earned all three points against Aberdeen last time out.

However, Obika reckons the best is still yet to come having been impressed by the standard of training since joining the Buddies.

He added: “The Aberdeen result should give us a lot of confidence that we have a good group. Every training session I see us getting closer and closer to where we want to be.

“The standard up here is really good. I knew a couple of the boys before I came up, Tony Andreu was at Coventry City and I played against him, while Sam Foley was at Northampton.

“But you can tell even from the youngsters that there is a lot of talent here.”

It is the talent of youngsters such as Kyle McAllister, Kyle Magennis and Cammy MacPherson that has caught his eye most.

The 28-year-old said: “It is important to me that I take on a little bit of responsibility.

“It is important that people are willing to learn, from the older boys to the youngsters.

“I want to give good advice and really help out the boys wherever I possibly can.”