St Johnstone great Nick Dasovic has told fellow Canadian, Theo Bair to be ready to make himself a Premiership survival hero.
The former McDiarmid Park fans’ favourite and first Saints player to score in a cup final met up with the player he coached at Vancouver Whitecaps when he was in Scotland recently.
Bair was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Hibs as Dasovic watched on from the Main Stand.
And the Whitecaps high potential player head coach took the chance to have a chat with his countryman the following day.
“I had breakfast with Theo and we had a good chat,” said Dasovic.
“It’s a tough time for him but that happens in football.
“I told him about Davide Xausa. He got one game for St Johnstone and then never saw the light of day for the next year.
Here is the answer to our first #TriviaTuesday challenge: Craig Forrest, Tony Menezes, Mark Watson, Jim Brennan, Jason de Vos, Jason Bent, Davide Xausa, Paul Peschisolido, Nick Dasovic, Kevin McKenna, and Paul Stalteri!#CANMNT #CSNInside pic.twitter.com/Dbjty19ugp
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) May 19, 2020
“Players always need to ask themselves: ‘What do I need to do better to be playing?’ And the answer is ‘everything’.
“If you’ve got weaknesses, keep working on them.
“And the biggest thing is – when the opportunity arises you have to be ready and take your chance.
“Careers are built on taking a chance. It’s as simple as that.
“I went to the park on the Monday after the Hibs match to say some goodbyes and Theo was down there doing some extra work.
“He might come on in one of the last games and save the season for Saints. Stranger things have happened in football.
“His head isn’t down. He was like: ‘I get it, I’ve got to keep working’.
“I just said that when the gaffer looks down the bench and he locks eyes with him, he needs to give him that ‘put me on’ look.
“Don’t overdo it, keep it simple and one goal could change your life very quickly.”
Not a seasoned pro yet
Dasovic believes Bair’s first team inexperience should still be taken into account, despite the fact he’s now been in Scotland for over a year.
“When I came to St Johnstone I was a seasoned vet at 25 who had played for the national team five times, I’d played in Sweden, Croatia and France,” he told Courier Sport.
“Nothing fazed me.
“I grew up with Scots. I knew the mentality and the culture. I’d been a pro for six or seven years.
“And I was also helped by the fact I was coming into a team in the First Division. My first game was against East Fife, with no disrespect to them.
1996 | Nick Dasovic makes his St Johnstone debut in a 3-0 defeat of East Fife at McDiarmid Park. pic.twitter.com/Fgg1eIINiW
— Saints On This Day (@SaintsOTD) November 13, 2020
“There was time for me to adjust to things. We won the first 10 games.
“I’ve seen a study that says for young players going to a new country, it takes a year-and-a-half to two years to fully acclimatise.
“Theo didn’t have a tonne of minutes behind him at the Whitecaps.
“He’s just going to have to grind it out and take his chance when it comes round again.”
Dasovic added: “Maybe things will change for him under the gaffer, or if there’s a new one in the summer.
“It’s a trust issue.
“If a manager asks himself the question: ‘Do I trust him to come on’ and the answer is ‘no’ then it’s tough.
“When you look at Theo you’ve got an idea of how he’s going to play but that’s not his game.
“I worked with him quite a bit in Vancouver.
“We didn’t mind our strikers dropping deep and linking up as opposed to always breaking lines.
“We tried to play through the thirds and keep possession.
“I know that in Scotland, he’s learning how to use his body better.”
A society issue
Most importantly, Bair has bounced back from the racist comment directed at him after Saints’ game against Aberdeen.
“I gave him a call when that thing the other week came up to make sure he was in a good head-space,” said Dasovic.
“That stuff can be devastating.
“I was really happy with the way St Johnstone dealt with it and I didn’t expect anything else.
“They supported him and sent out the right message.
“This is about society unfortunately.”
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