Max Kucheriavyi insists the pressure of a title tilt at Kelty Hearts will steel him to make the grade at St Johnstone.
The diminutive Ukrainian made an immediate impact for the Fifers following his loan switch, winning the decisive penalty as Kelty claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Cowdenbeath on Tuesday night.
The scintillating cameo from the bench came just 24 hours after penning a deal until the end of the season.
“One of the most important things when I was deciding to go to Kelty was how they they are fighting for a title,” said Kucheriavyi.
“It is always good for a young player to develop and experience that pressure to win every game for a trophy.
“I am very excited to be here and work with this manager [Kevin Thomson] and so many good professionals. I hope they can help me — and I will do everything to help Kelty.
“In my phone call with the gaffer, he explained how he wants Kelty to play, and I watched some games. I got a sense of what my role could be and I know what he wants.”
Point to prove
With Kelty running a part-time operation, Kucheriavyi will continue to train with St Johnstone and — not short of self-belief — aims to show Saints boss Callum Davidson that he is capable of starring for the Perth outfit.
Davidson has made no secret of how impressed he has been by the progress of Kucheriavyi, who notched nine goals in 19 games for Brechin.
He recently described him as St Johnstone’s most impressive performer in training matches.
“It is always nice to hear such positive things,” continued Kucheriavyi. “At the moment, if he feels it is better for me to be playing minutes with Kelty, then I will take that.
“But I will still be training at St Johnstone and doing all I can to prove to the gaffer that I am good enough to be in his team.”
In a peculiar twist of fate, Kucheriavyi was subjected to a crunching challenge from his St Johnstone teammate Alex Ferguson moments after taking to the field.
“I think we will need to discuss that in the changing room,” he laughed. “But he might not want to talk because I won the penalty that got us the three points.”
‘Dive’ claim
Indeed, that spot-kick decision was hotly disputed, with Cowden boss Maurice Ross bluntly declaring that Kucheriavyi dived.
The youngster did not shy away from answering that charge, contending he was clipped by Jamie Todd — and would never have risked going to ground otherwise, having been booked for simulation minutes earlier.
“I tried to put my body in front of the player and protect the ball — and if I had not been touched, I would have kept going and tried to create an opportunity for my team,” he added. “I was on a yellow card so I would not go down without a touch.”
