Loan Saint says he’s made right decision
Calum Waters hopes spending the rest of the season with St Mirren will ensure he’s ready to play for one of their rivals.
The 23- year- old left- back is on loan from Kilmarnock, where he has just agreed a new contract until 2021.
Waters joined the Buddies at the start of the season, despite his main rival for a starting place, Greg Taylor, being sold to Celtic.
Waters said: “I could maybe have stayed at Killie. I didn’t know if Greg was going to go or not at the time. If he had stayed, I might not have got much game time.
“I was in a position where I had to make a decision, and it’s been the right one for me because I’ve been playing every week.
“It took me maybe five or six games to get up to speed as it’s really my first season in the top league.
“I’ve been speaking to James Fowler, Killie’s new director of football, and he was saying I’d probably be better staying with St Mirren for the next six months.
“I know the current left-back at Killie, Niko Hamalainen, is on loan there for the season. So, hopefully, after a full season here, I can go back with more experience and be ready to step in.”
Saints’ boss Jim Goodwin played with Waters at his first managerial post at Alloa.
He said: “It’s always a concern when you take good players on loan, that the parent club will call him back, as happened with Sean Mcloughlin.
“He was outstanding, Hull City recognised it, watched him, read our reports and when they took him back, he was straight into their squad last weekend.
“Any manager will tell you that leftsided defenders are really difficult to come by. So replacing Sean quickly with Conor Mccarthy was great.
“To try to do that and find a left- back of similar quality to Calum would have been so difficult.”
The weather yesterday thwarted Goodwin’s spy trip to watch Saturday’s Scottish Cup opponents, Broxburn Athletic.
He said: “It is really important we don’t go into this tie expecting an easy ride.
“We have to give them the same attention to detail we do for any Premiership team we face.
“It’ll be great if we can get through a couple of rounds and generate some income. But, at the same time, you are only a few rounds away from a trip to Hampden. I think that’s the big thing.
“I don’t like harping back to the League Cup win in 2013. But it shows you what you can be capable of.
“That’s got to be our mindset.”