FINDERS KEEPERS
Saints end their long search for a No.1 as Remi joins along with Mitchell... but Dan heads out
CALLUM DAVIDSON has been forced into a late defensive reshuffle but he reckons Remi Matthews and Alex Mitchell can be aces up his sleeve for St Johnstone.
The McDiarmid Park boss has brought in keeper Matthews, 28, on loan from Crystal Palace while central defender Mitchell has been borrowed from Millwall.
Those arrivals were sealed as it was confirmed Saints had reluctantly agreed to let central defender Dan Cleary terminate his contract to return home to Dublin for family reasons.
Matthews, who had a loan spell at Hamilton six years ago, has ended the Perth side’s summer-long search for a shot-stopper after Zander Clark left on freedom of contract in the summer.
Davidson said: “It was a long process to find a keeper.
“We looked at a lot of good goalies so are delighted to get Remi in.
“He ticks all the boxes for us. Ideally we would have liked him in sooner but a lot of the time the bigger clubs don’t make decisions until later in the window. He’s played at a good level in England, he’s got experience of crowds and handling different situations.
“He’s also played in Scotland before so he knows what he’s coming into here.
“Remi is still young enough for a keeper so hopefully by playing week in, week out we will see improvements in him too.
“He’s a very good all-round goalkeeper, that’s what we have had here in the past.
“He’s desperate to get going and to be the No.1 here. We have told him he’ll get his chance to play and it will be up to him to take it.
“We want him to be a leader, have high standards and to grab the opportunity he’s got.”
Mitchell comes in from The Den, a place Davidson knows well after being No.2 at the club before taking the reins in Perth. The 20-yearold didn’t work under the Saints boss but he has been impressed and sees him as an old-style central defender.
Davidson added: “I saw Alex in some youth games at Millwall but I didn’t work with him directly.
“We looked at him last summer when we were needing a centre-half.
“But he was just a bit young then and needed games elsewhere.
“He’s had that now and that’s vitally important.
“One of the things we saw last season was how important it is to have that experience of first-team football before coming into a league like ours.
“He played every week at Leyton Orient in League Two, so he’s got that experience of the highs and lows, playing in front of crowds and dealing with proper games.
“He is what you would describe as an old-fashioned centre-half who likes to head it and make tackles. He trained with us Wednesday morning and was right in the thick of it, shouting and making demands of people, which is great to see.”
It’s a quick move to fill the void left by Cleary’s shock exit yesterday.
The 26-year-old Irishman still had two years left on his contract but that has been mutually terminated as he deals with a personal situation.
Shamrock Rovers now look to be the favourites to land the former Dundalk player. Davidson said: “Dan is away back to Ireland and I’d like to thank him for everything he did for us.
“He came here when we were struggling and played a part in keeping the club in the Premiership.
“I am gutted to lose him but family is more important and he’s got to do what’s best for them.
“We had a few chats over the last few days and it was obvious how much he wanted to do well here.
“It’s a tough time for him and we all wish him all the best for the future.”
The arrivals also mean Saints could now be in a position to let some younger players head out on loan. Keeper Ross Sinclair is one who is likely to go out with interest from a number of clubs, including Montrose and Edinburgh City.
Saints have Matthews and Elliott Parish for goalkeeping cover as they get set to start their league season at home to Hibs. Davidson said: “Ross has done really well so we want him out on loan playing games now.”
We’ve told him he’ll get his chance and it will be up to him to take it CALLUM DAVIDSON ON NEW KEEPER MATTHEWS