Lomas says decision to send May out on loan is a ‘footballing’ one

ST JOHNSTONE boss Steve Lomas insists the reason he has decided to send Stevie May out on loan is a footballing one, despite previously admitting he has to free up space in his squad before he can bring in any new faces.

The McDiarmid Park manager has made no secret of his desire to add at least one more player to his roster before the transfer window shuts tonight, with formerAberdeen and Dundee United midfielder Mark Kerr heavily linked with a move to Perth.

However, Lomas says striker May — who was farmed out last season to Alloa where he banged in the goals to help Paul Hartley’s side gain promotion to DivisionTwo — has been allowed to go to First Division Hamilton Accies to continue his playing apprenticeship.

He said: “It is a good move for Stevie to continue his development and we are looking at loans for some other youngsters.

“Finance does come into it in the current climate but first and foremost this is a football decision for Stevie and the club.

“He is on a learning curve and we don’t want him to sit here getting a few minutes now and again from the bench.

“I feel I have a duty to the younger players here.”

Saints go into tomorrow’s Tayside derby still searching for their first league win of the season.

H ow e v e r, Lomas remains confident that if his side replicate the same level of performance they displayed in their last two games, then their luck and results are bound to change.

He said: “It’s a derby and one we are looking forward to.

“We feel we owe our fans a performance after the disappointment of the Aberdeen match.

“We have been looking back over the DVDs of the first four league games with the lads and I am more than happy with displays against Hibs and Motherwell.

“We did more than enough to win both games, although I’m still wondering how we lost last weekend at Easter Road.

“I’m a great believer that if you put in a performance, the result generally takes care of itself but that hasn’t happened in our last two games.

“I wasn’t happy with the Aberdeen match, although we were missing players and then lost Chris Millar and Murray Davidson by half-time.

“Make no mistake, that performance did hurt us but now we have a chance to turn it around in front of our own fans.We feel we owe them.”

Millar remains sidelined with his hamstring injury and Craig Beattie will not feature as he recovers from illness.

St Johnstone’s game against Celtic at Parkhead scheduled for November 10 has been put back 24 hours to Sunday November 11, at 3pm.

This change has been made to avoid a clash with the Rangers v Peterhead match at Ibrox on the Saturday.

Stevie May.