Liam Craig was held back by lack of full pre-season

Liam Craig has had to play catch-up as a result of being a free agent for much of pre-season.

But his best performance so far in his second spell at St Johnstone has proved that he is well on his way to getting back up to full speed.

Craig came off the bench to replace Murray Davidson early in Saturday’s victory over Hamilton Accies.

He grabbed a goal and Perth boss Tommy Wright believes the former Hibs and Falkirk man’s hard work is paying off.

“Liam is a good pro and you can do your best working by yourself,” Wright said. “But it doesn’t make up for a full pre-season with a club.

“He was doing some extra work but we felt it was the wrong type of stuff.

“We have got him concentrating on shorter, sharper routines.

“That was his best game at the weekend and he was very positive. But there is still more to come from Liam.”

Wright added: “Liam will score goals for us. His record tells you that. He got 41 here last time around.

“I know we will get goals from him.

“The early signs are that scoring isn’t going to be a problem for us this year.”