Ryan McGowan has realistic World Cup ambitions with Australia.
And the versatile defender’s motivation to make it to Qatar 2022 will be to St Johnstone’s benefit, according to manager Callum Davidson.
The former Hearts, Dundee United and Dundee man was given his Perth debut as a second half substitute against Ayr United on Saturday after signing a two-year deal.
Any suggestion that the 32-year-old’s career is on the wind-down couldn’t be further from the truth, with Davidson revealing that the competitiveness of the Scottish Premiership played a big part in persuading him to turn down financially better terms closer to home.
“I’m delighted to get Ryan in because he had other far more lucrative offers elsewhere,” said the McDiarmid Park boss.
“He’s desperate to make the Australian World Cup squad (he was last in a squad in March) and it was clear speaking to him before signing he’s aiming at that.
Ryan McGowan and Bailey Wright have been called into the Socceroos' squad following Harry Souttar's injury.
Australia plays China in their next World Cup qualifier.#AsianQualifiers pic.twitter.com/YfO9p03psv
— bet365 AUS (@bet365_aus) November 12, 2021
“In order to do that he has to be playing in a top league where he can make a positive impact and get recognition.
“Playing in a World Cup would be a great opportunity for him and at his age it’s probably the last chance.
“So he’s really got something to aim for and is desperate to get going.”
Experience issue addressed
Davidson has made a point of addressing an experience vacuum at McDiarmid created by the summer departures of senior pros like Jamie McCart, Zander Clark, Shaun Rooney, Craig Bryson, Callum Hendry and Jacob Butterfield, and Liam Craig’s retirement.
“For me, I wanted to add a bit more experience to the squad and Ryan brings that,” he said.
“He’s played at a high level, he’s vocal and he’s an organiser.
“I have been conscious to get players in who like to speak, to take responsibility and bring out the best in others.
“I have felt one thing we have lacked is a bit of communication. Ryan will add to that, as will Andy Considine.
“The game is a lot easier when you talk – you help each other out on the pitch so Ryan will definitely do that.”
Davidson added: “We lost a lot of Premiership experience over the summer – four big players with games under their belts.
“And when you look at the players we added in January they were pretty much all young and with potential.
“Theo Bair is 22, Tony Gallacher is 23, Cammy MacPherson is 23, then we have added Adam Montgomery at 20 and Max Kucheriavyi is 20 who has stepped up after his loans.
“We have young boys in the squad in what is a tough league so I felt we needed experience to help them through it.
“It has been a conscious effort to bring in that experience. You need that know-how in a squad to help get through a season.”
𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙢 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙚 🚀
Officially opening his Saints account in style 😎
Graham Carey scored the only goal from our 1-0 win over @AyrUnitedFC #SJFC | #COYS | pic.twitter.com/bjzyzEBcST
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) July 25, 2022
The recruitment drive goes on, with the Premiership kick-off against Hibernian looming large.
“We are working hard on a goalkeeper and hopefully we’ll have someone in over the next few days,” said Davidson.
“It has taken time. We have looked at various options because we know how important it is to get it right.
“We want someone with experience, who can communicate and has a track record.
“We are looking to improve other areas of the team as well.
“After the cup games we have a better idea of where we are with the squad so we’re assessing all the options out there.”
Theo Bair fit
There was good news to report on Theo Bair’s fitness.
“Theo will be fit for the weekend after missing out against Ayr,” he said.
“Liam Gordon will hopefully be back training this week but he’s not had many minutes at all so we will have to be careful with him.
“Whether he’s available for the weekend or not, I’m not so sure.”
Chris Kane’s comeback isn’t imminent.
“Kano’s progress has been slower than he wanted,” said Davidson.
“You get ups and downs when you are coming back from injury and he’s probably in one of those downs at the moment.
“It’s frustrating for him but hopefully he will be back sooner rather than later.”
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