The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Striker glad to land loan deal
Callum Hendry ended up “trying too hard” to get back on the goalscoring trail with St Johnstone, according to manager Callum Davidson.
And a season-long loan spell with Kilmarnock gives him the best chance to start finding the net again.
Hendry was Saints’ leading marksman in the season before Davidson took over at McDiarmid Park.
But despite being a regular starter under the Perth boss in the early months of 2020-21, the goals dried up.
After a loan to Aberdeen in the second half of that campaign, Hendry, 23, returned to the club and played eight times at the beginning of this one.
However, the barren run continued and now Davidson is hoping that reuniting with Tommy Wright at Rugby Park will kickstart his career.
“It was a hard one with Callum,” he said. “Similar to last season. He’s going out to play games.
“If he’d decided he wanted to stay I’d have been quite happy with that but I think it’s the right sort of move for Callum. He’s probably not played enough football.
“He started a lot for me in that first period, but he just didn’t score. That then became a bit of an issue.
“Callum is a great boy and he probably ended up trying too hard. It’s one of them – other guys have come in and scored goals.
“It’s as simple as that. Sometimes I play the three up front and that probably doesn’t suit him best.
“It’s about being fair to Callum and making sure he gets enough game-time between now and January and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Hendry, who also spent some time on loan at Brechin City, told the Killie website: “It feels amazing to be here and I’m delighted to get the move done.
“I’m looking forward to playing under Tommy again and just before he left Saints I was playing the best football of my career.
“I want to get into the team and score goals here because it is such a big club and I’m determined to help Kilmarnock return to the Premiership.”
Wright said: “Callum is very good in the air, an excellent finisher and someone I think will only get better with games.”
Young Saints midfielder Cammy Ballantyne has returned for a third stint with Montrose until January.