Saints land a ‘hungry’ striker

St Johnstone have signed a “hungry” Tony Watt who hasn’t lost any of his ability, according to manager Tommy Wright.

The Perth boss has persuaded the former Celtic man to choose McDiarmid Park as the place to kickstart his career, writes Eric Nicolson.

And he’s hoping to see in Watt the enthusiasm of the teenager who burst on the scene with his winning goal for Celtic against Barcelona in 2012.

“I think Tony is going to be a really good signing for us,” said Wright.

“The one thing he has is ability and from talking to him it is quite obvious he is hungry.

“I am excited about this signing and confident he will do well for us,” he added.

“There’s no way we would have got a Tony Watt of four years ago on our budget.

“We know if he does really well he probably won’t be here in 12 months. I just feel we can give him a platform to enjoy his football. If he works hard I have no doubt he will score goals.”

Watt should play 45 minutes against Berwick Rangers this evening, with former Morton left-back Mark Russell set to feature as a trialist.

Wright added: “He has trained with us for the first time and he is in very good shape.

“So he has worked hard over the summer.

“The most important thing for Tony in his life is to look forward and not back.

“I have told him this is like starting over when he was 17 or 18 again and signing his first contract.

“I have seen reports of this being last chance saloon for him but I don’t see it that way.

“He has ability, he is here to enjoy his football and score goals and we will see where it takes him and St Johnstone.

“I want him playing as high up the pitch as possible.

“I watched him sometimes at Hearts and thought he played too deep. As an opposition manager I was happy with that.

“But I want Tony in areas where he can hurt teams. He is coming here with no guarantees and he knows there is competition.

“He knows I will be forthright and honest with him but he knows I am also here to help him.”