St Johnstone’s ‘loan Ranger’ O’Halloran not thinking about January

Forward is enjoying his football again and wants to ensure Saints make progress

Michael O’Halloran isn’t wasting any time wondering about what January will bring.

The on-loan forward is only concentrating on helping St Johnstone to make December a memorable month.

O’Halloran, who could return to Rangers when his short-term Perth deal expires in a few weeks, has fully recovered from an ankle injury that slowed down his stunning early season form.

And now he expects to be back to his best for a hectic spell of football at McDiarmid Park.

He said: “There’s a lot of games in December. It is always a busy time and that’s what you want as a footballer.

“I’m just concentrating on game by game. I’m really enjoying my time back here again. It’s a great club and a place I feel really at home and comfortable.

“I don’t know what is going to happen after January. I don’t know what the situation is. But I am looking forward to the next six or seven games before the break.

“At the end of the day it’s up to Rangers what happens and I would imagine I will have a say in it myself.

“I will have to wait and see who the new manager is there but I am just enjoying playing football and I’m taking it game by game here.

“I am happy with that in my own mind. I have to be. I am here to play football. It’s what I came here to do and it’s my job to focus on games for St Johnstone.

“As for what happens in January I can cross that bridge when I come to it.”

With O’Halloran fully fit and the team buoyed by a win against Hibs in their last game, there is reason for optimism on personal and collective fronts for the former Bolton man.

“I damaged my ankle in the Dundee game and maybe came back a wee bit early,” he said. “But it’s totally fine now.

“I have done some rehab on it with the physio and I’ve no problem with it now. The break has helped me as well and I’m raring to go again.

“As a footballer you have to learn to cope with this sort of thing. It can happen to anyone.

“I am back to 100%. I have trained with the lads and there has been no flareup since the Hibs game. It’s all good.

“I think the team is ready to kick on again after the win over Hibs.

“The nature of the league is that teams go on wee runs, good and bad. Hibs had been flying and no one was giving us a chance. Maybe that suited us.

“But within the group we knew we were capable of getting a result at Easter Road. We deserved the three points. We created chances and played a lot of nice football.

“We also showed grit and endeavour to go back up the park and score the winner after they equalised with a late penalty.

“We hadn’t been scoring for a few

games but that summed-up the character in this side.”

O’Halloran added: “Maybe it was a bad time that the break came after such a good result but now we are looking to build on it against Kilmarnock.

“Scoring is a team responsibility. It doesn’t matter who gets the goals if we are winning games.

“But as a forward obviously it is always nice to be chipping in. I’m aiming to add a few more goals to my tally.”

Today’s visitors will bring back good memories for O’Halloran.

He recalled: “My first goal of the season was against Kilmarnock coming off the bench in the first game of the season. It was good start for me and hopefully there is more of the same.

“The new manager has made a difference to Kilmarnock and we will be wary of the threat they possess. “The gaffer will have us ready to go.” Meanwhile, Killie boss Steve Clarke thinks his team need to follow the blueprint for success adopted by Tommy Wright’s team in recent seasons.

He said: “The way St Johnstone do things is what we’re trying to achieve.

“You have to credit them, and not just Tommy, but from the chairman down for putting a structure in place that has allowed them to build a really strong squad of players on a smallish budget. That’s what we have to look to do too.”

Clarke says he will have to wait at least another week before handing Youssouf Mulumbu his Kilmarnock debut.

The former West Brom player joined Killie last month but remains short of match fitness and will not feature today.

Youngster Greg Kiltie made his first appearance after six months out with an ankle injury in an under-20s clash earlier this week but is not yet ready for his first team return.

Iain Wilson (knee) and Steven Smith (back) remain out, while Jordan Jones is suspended.

Picture: PPA. Michael O’Halloran has put all thoughts of the January window to the back of his mind as he concentrates on playing his part for St Johnstone.