The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Young Saints defender aims to make impression in Toulon
UNDER-21: Saints defender in Scotland squad for Toulon Tournament
Jason Kerr has made a big impression with his club and is looking to do the same with his country.
The St Johnstone defender is in the Scotland under-21 squad heading to the Toulon Tournament.
The young Scots, who made history by beating Brazil 12 months ago, hope to progress to the knockout stages this time around.
“I’ve been in squads recently and for the Euro qualifiers, but it is always great to be selected for Scotland,” said Kerr.
“I have never been to the Toulon Tournament but Oli Burke, who was captain before, and my room-mate Scott Wright both tell me it is a great event to be part of.
“We are in a tough group along with host nation France, Togo (their opening opponents this weekend) and South Korea.
“So it will be a great experience playing against different styles and types of strikers. You can be sure the French under-21 side will be top quality.
“And it would be great to progress to the next stage.
“We have a good squad. It is younger than the Euro qualifiers. We have brought in Billy Gilmour from Chelsea and Ryan Porteous from Hibs. There is a lot of quality in there.”
Confidence couldn’t be higher for Kerr whose loan spells at East Fife and Queen of the South put down a solid base for an impressive second half of the season at Mcdiarmid Park.
“It has been an up and down season for the club but a great one for me personally,” he said.
“I thought we ended the season quite well, and there were great results away to Dundee and Motherwell,” he added.
“The plan was always to go out on loan to gain more experience with Queen of the South for the first half of the season. I played every game there.
“It worked really well. I feel I have cemented my place in the squad.
“I haven’t actually played many games for St Johnstone, given how long I have been here, but I do have a lot of first team experience on loan at lower levels.
“There is a massive different between development football and even the lower leagues. So the loans have been great for me.
“The Premiership is tough so loans are a good path for youngsters to take. It’s a route I’d encourage them to take with an eye on getting into the first team.”