IN GOOD SHAPE

Hendry determined to step up to the plate and play for full 90 minutes

Callum Hendry is feeling fitter than ever before — and yesterday welcomed further competition in the forward department.

New boss Callum Davidson bolstered St Johnstone’s attacking options last week with the arrival of Millwall youngster Isaac Olaofe on loan.

Saints played a weekend bounce game among themselves where 20-year-old Olaofe found the back of the net twice.

Hendry, who enjoyed a productive season last term, reckons the competition for a starting place can spur him on to even greater things this year.

“The competition will bring out the best in me,” Hendry told the Perthshire Advertiser. “Isaac will be a great asset for us

– he is direct, powerful and really quick.

“It was good to get back to the running and training to begin with, seeing all of the boys.

“But now we’re getting the feel of playing matches again and that helps everyone.

“With pre-season you can come back fitter than ever but you’ll never have the match sharpness straight away. The only way you gain that is by playing.

“I’m feeling sharp and I think that is the same for everyone else. We’ll all get even sharper the more games we play, so we’ll definitely be ready for August 1.

“I want to grab a goal in the first couple of games. I’ve never had a season where I’ve started straight away with my name on the teamsheet for the first game.

“Hopefully I can do that first and foremost and then grab a goal early on.

“That would just be wonderful for my confidence.

“I just want to do my best for the team.”

Hendry played 75 minutes against Hibs last week and is determined to cement his place as a 90-minute player under manager Davidson.

“The gaffer and coaches want to make me a 90-minute player this season, instead of a 20-minute player,” Hendry explained. “It’s the fittest I’ve felt.

“The biggest thing for me is staying fit. Hopefully I can hit the

ground running and turn my performances into 90-minute games.

“I previously kept cramping up and it was really frustrating because obviously I wanted to see games out.

“But the gaffer and coaches have spoken to me about defending from the front as a striker. It’s about reserving energy and putting myself in better positions.

“The games were taking their toll on me but I now feel fitter, especially because of the minutes I got last season.”

Dates for this season’s Betfred Cup were released by the SPFL yesterday and group stage matches are set to begin on Tuesday, October 6.

SPFL chief executive

Neil Doncaster said: “The process of scheduling the SPFL’s premier cup competition has been made much more difficult this year due to the disruption caused by COVID-19.

“But we are delighted to be in a position to confirm five uninterrupted rounds of fixtures once again.”