THe fADDy Kenny:He’s still got real star quality
SPFL PREMIERSHIP
KENNY McLEAN revealed St Mirren will be on their guard this afternoon to halt St Johnstone new boy James McFadden.
The enigmatic former Motherwell forward put pen to paper earlier this week on a season-long deal with the Perth club after his terms were not renewed at Fir Park during the summer.
McFadden returned to Well – the club where he rose to prominence as a teenage star – last February, after a decade in English football with two spells at Everton, one at Birmingham City and a late cameo at Sunderland.
However, a regular starting place was hard to come by, with injuries playing their part.
But with McFadden now signing for St Johnstone, Buddies midfielder McLean knows his side must be at the top of their game to stop a former Scotland talisman with a point to prove.
“Of course he’s a great player,” said the St Mirren ace. “He’s played at the highest level most of his career.
“We know his capabilities from his time at Motherwell, he’s always a danger in the final third. We’ll look at that and try to keep him quiet.”
The Paisley club go into the battle of the Saints i n high spirits as a result of coming from 2-0 down at Pittodrie on Tuesday to salvage a 2-2 draw. It comes off the back of a strong performance in the 2-1 defeat to Celtic last Saturday, with McLean grabbing a goal in each game.
However, the 22-year-old stresses getting much-needed results is the priority..
And he believes today could be the day where a dazzling display and a rip-roaring result go hand in hand for Tommy Craig’s team.
“The mood in the camp has been very good, even before the Aberdeen draw,” McLean explained. “There was speculation about things behind the scenes but that was a load of rubbish.
“It was great to get the equaliser at Pittodrie, but the result was more important, it wasn’t about me. Hopefully if I can continue to score goals we can keep picking up points.”
JIM GOODWIN has also set his sights on maintaining some momentum from the Buddies’ midweek draw.
He said: “Not many teams come away from Pittodrie with anything, but it showed our never-say-die attitude.
“At two down people might have thought the floodgates would open but the players don’t know when they are beat. St Johnstone have lost their last three league games, so both of us are fighting for our lives at the moment.”
Gaffer Tommy Craig is adamant he can see progress as he tries to steer the Paisley side away from the danger zone. “To reinforce Tuesday’s result we need a result against St Johnstone,” he said. “We have a lot of ground to make up but you can see chinks of daylight here and there.”