The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hendry Jr tipped to make his own mark
St johnstone: Wright impressed with defender’s promising displays
He might be better known as the son of Scotland legend Colin Hendry.
But St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright is tipping Callum to make a name for himself in the game.
The Perth club snapped up the 19-year-old striker from Blackburn Rovers over the summer and he notched a confidently executed winner in the 1-0 midweek closed doors win over Rangers.
Hendry has headed north to kick-start a career undermined by knee surgery at Ewood Park, where his dad was a titlewinning captain.
Wright said: “Callum scored a great opportunist’s goal against Rangers and the talk was all about him being Colin Hendry’s son.
“But he has impressed me and I’m sure he will be good enough to make his own mark in the game. He was recommended to our assistant Callum Davidson by his contacts at Blackburn and we brought Callum up for a trial towards the end of last season.
“We were impressed with what we saw and decided to get something done over the summer.
“He certainly has all the attributes. He is strong, he has a really good touch and he has a tremendous leap on him.
“Callum is proving to have an eye for a goal. He also scored a hat-trick against Doncaster under-23s in about 15 minutes so he knows where the back of the net is. He had an injury for a while at Blackburn, which maybe set him back a bit.
“But I can see him moving very quickly into the first-team squad here. If he keeps improving there may be opportunities for him.”
Reflecting on the closed doors win over a strong Rangers side, Wright said: “It was a really good exercise and a good performance.
“I know results aren’t important at this stage but it was good to keep winning and get another clean sheet.
“We played much better than the last game there, which was a 0-0. I saw a real improvement in us.
“We created more chances and only two from the starting 11 against Sunderland started this one. A lot of our younger players got time, including Jason Kerr and Aaron Comrie.
“Rangers had a strong team out with only Bruno Alves missing. So it was great experience for the youngsters. Now we have Hartlepool on Saturday at McDiarmid and East Fife away on July 29 to round off our preparations.
“We have 10 youngsters who are very much squad players this season. Two or three will be going out on loan, depending on how many we bring in.”
Wright will take one more look at French trialist Romain Habran in the home friendly with Hartlepool before making a decision on the 23-year-old former PSG winger.
I’m sure Callum will be good enough to make his own mark in the game. TOMMY WRIGHT