Saints’ offer for Rudden rejected

Partick Thistle manager Ian Mccall has confirmed that St Johnstone have had a bid knocked back for striker Zak Rudden.

And the Jags boss also revealed the Perth club have got plenty of competition for the Scotland Under-21 international’s services – if the Championship promotion hopefuls decide to sell this month.

“There have been two or three bids from other clubs as well as St Johnstone but nothing that I would look at,” said Mccall, who hasn’t given up hope of persuading the former Rangers man to extend his Firhill contract beyond the summer.

“Ultimately it won’t be my decision, it will be the board’s, but they will take my advice.

“There’s nothing that we would think about right now.

“These things tend to heat up, don’t they. But we are hopeful he will still sign a new deal to stay here.

“We will be doing all we can to keep him but I have been in football a long time and I know how quickly things can change. It’s a fluid situation so we just have to wait and see what happens.

“Anything that has come in we have turned down but we will have to see what comes in the next few weeks.”

As you would expect with a player in the early years of his career, Rudden has plenty of scope to improve, according to Mccall.

“He still has to find a level of consistency and he is a young player,” he said.

“He played at Kilmarnock when we won 1-0 and he played really well. If anyone had watched him that day they would have put a bid in after the game – he was that good.

“He has other performances when he still isn’t quite as good. We know he still has a lot to learn but he is a finisher and they tend to attract attention.”