St Johnstone fans are yet to see the real Luke Jephcott, according to manager Steven MacLean.
But a “mini pre-season” over the last fortnight has helped accelerate that process.
Jephcott is one of a few of Saints recruits who were without a club in the summer.
And there’s been an inevitable fitness catch-up that’s gone with that.
“Jephcott trained Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday after joining and then played against Alloa,” MacLean explained.
“He then had recovery on the Monday, played against Ayr on Tuesday, recovery Thursday, trained Friday and then played against Stirling.
“We had to play him because we had no players.
“It wasn’t fair on him or anybody probably.
“He’d had 10 weeks off but last week we got him a mini pre-season. He ran every day and trained.
“We probably won’t get the real Luke Jephcott until September or October.”
MacLean added: “A lot of the new lads will improve.
“We can improve Dare (Olufunwa) a lot because he has good attributes. We’ll get him there.
“The young loan players will keep getting better. Like Adam Montgomery, you see the progression.”
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