St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson has made his mind up that he wants to keep Ali Crawford at the club beyond his current loan deal.
The former Hamilton Accies midfielder has made an immediate impact since arriving on from Bolton Wanderers on deadline day.
Crawford has made eight appearances, scoring twice – the second of those goals being the winner against Dundee United at the weekend.
The 30-year-old has put on record a “100%” desire to extend his McDiarmid Park stay through to the conclusion of the season and Davidson is of a similar mind.
“Definitely,” said the Perth boss.
“We’ve already spoken about it.
“I’ll be sitting down with the chairman to discuss all the players and looking at what we can do.
“Ali is enjoying himself and long may it continue, especially when he’s scoring goals like that.
“We definitely want to keep him here.”
💫 @AliCrawford 💫#SJFC pic.twitter.com/rnwRoAYMsp
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) November 1, 2021
Davidson believes Crawford’s skillset is well-suited to the Premiership.
“It’s very physical in England and you see a lot more of his quality up here,” he said.
“His movement and energy levels are tremendous but the biggest thing is the quality he has in front of goal.
“That was half a chance on Saturday and it was an unbelievable finish. He does it in training all the time so it didn’t surprise me.
“Kano made a great run that dragged a defender away.
“He wouldn’t have been happy if it hadn’t ended up in the back of the net but there was one in the second half when Kano should maybe have slipped Ali in.”
Cammy staying on his feet
Davidson’s other loan midfielder, Cammy MacPherson, won’t be able to play against his parent club, St Mirren, on Saturday.
He too has shown his worth over the last few weeks.
“That’s probably the first time Cammy’s played three consecutive 90 minutes in seven days,” said Davidson.
“He’s getting better and better.
“I’ve always known he’s a talent.
“I keep telling him to stay on his feet and that’s where the first goal has come from. He’s not gone to ground (to challenge Jeando Fuchs) and he’s won the ball.
“It’s about not selling yourself and making sure the player has to work his feet.
“He has a physical presence and quality on the ball. I know when he gets the ball he’ll keep it. And playing games will top up his fitness levels.”
