A 10-hour drive wasn’t the ideal start to life with St Johnstone for Luke Jephcott.
But the McDiarmid Park club’s new signing couldn’t have asked for a better first week as a Perth player.
The 23-year-old set-up Saints’ opening goal at Alloa after less than a minute’s action in Clackmannanshire.
His through ball for Cammy Ballantyne was perfectly weighted.
Jephcott also had a hand in goal number three – Stevie May’s.
And by the final whistle of the 4-0 victory any thoughts that he had strayed too far from home were well and truly gone.
“That was a very good start,” he said. “It must have been the first time I’ve played on an artificial pitch for about six years!
“Getting the goal so quickly, scoring four goals, a clean sheet and a very good overall team performance was exactly what we wanted.
Double debut ✅
Clean sheet for Dimi 🧤
Assist for Luke 🔍How impressed were you with these two today? 🤩#SJFC pic.twitter.com/Wspl94tp2g
— St. Johnstone FC (@StJohnstone) July 22, 2023
“To play a part in that early goal was ideal for me personally.
“Cammy took his finish really well.
“This is a long way from Cornwall and at first I was a bit unsure about coming to Scotland, having never played here.
“But when I spoke to people and thought about it I realised this was be a really good opportunity for me.
“The day before I signed it took me about 10 hours to drive up!
“That was a big reason for me being a bit unsure.
“I won’t be driving next time I make the trip, I can say that!
“I’m sure I’ve made a great decision.
“I’ve loved my first few days. It’s a great changing room and the boys are class.
“The standard of training is excellent and it’s obviously great to get a win to top off the week.”
Best type of partner
Jephcott was at his best at Plymouth and Swindon with a strike-partner for company and the early signs of working alongside Stevie May were encouraging.
“I loved it out there today,” he said.
“Mayzo is a quality player – it’s the same all over the pitch.
“We were a real attacking threat.
“I’m used to playing with someone who will stretch the game and give me little pockets of space.
“Mayzo did that for me and Graham (Carey) was finding me in those pockets. Maxy (Max Kucheriavyi) as well.
“Ryan Hardie was usually the one stretching it for us at Plymouth and I was the one linking up the play.
“I talked a few times with Ryan about coming up here and he was very positive.
“He thought it would be a really good move for me and spoke very highly of the standard of the league.
“I played with Graham in my debut season – I’ve lost my pace since then though! These days I prefer to stay in the middle of the pitch.
“I didn’t actually realise until just before I came up that he was at St Johnstone.
“A couple of my mates told me.
“It’s always good when you know someone.”
I'm no medical expert but Graham Carey looked in a lot of discomfort walking (very slowly) out of the ground. https://t.co/LidcIPVxTd
— Eric Nicolson (@C_ENicolson) July 22, 2023
Jephcott didn’t get the benefit of a pre-season with a club but he hasn’t let his fitness levels drop off.
And it’s now about building up his match sharpness.
“A couple of weeks after the season Plymouth said they weren’t offering me a new contract,” he said.
“I had pre-season programmes sent out to me which I followed at home to keep in shape.
“I trained for three days before this game and getting these minutes in my legs will do me a lot of good.”
