St Johnstone boss Craig Levein asked his team to mark Fran Franczak’s first start for the Perth club in style.
They delivered with a superb 1-0 victory over Hibs.
And the 16-year-old showed why he’s regarded as a star in the making at McDiarmid Park.
Midfielder Franczak was handed an unfamiliar right wing-back role, putting in a performance a seasoned veteran would have been proud of.
“Fran’s performance didn’t surprise me,” said Levein.
“He’s been excellent in training and been with the first team squad since we came in.
“He’s competitive, he’s not a defensive player. He played that wing-back position like an attacker.
“He was super cool in his head space whatever he did. He didn’t get flummoxed or flustered at all.
“Everything that he did was really good.
“It was his starting debut.
“I asked the boys to try and make it a memorable one for him and they certainly did.”
Game control
Saints have now won three times under Levein, with this their most complete performance since he took over from Steven MacLean.
“It was very pleasing,” he said. “We’ve been doing things in training that Andy (Kirk) has been leading that we’ve shown glimpses of in previous games.
“Today we had quite a lot of control in the game which was important in making opportunities.
“We scored one but Marsh (Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall) made four top, top saves.
“One was enough and defensively we were really good.
“We were a little bit braver.
“There’s still the residue of negativity. I know what it’s like as a defender you think you drop back the safer you are but it’s not always the right decision.
“Credit to the back line. Our keeper didn’t have an awful lot to do but his tidying up in behind was really good.”
‘Long way to go’
Saints are now eighth in the table but face a run of away fixtures before the mid-season break.
“We’ve got a bit of momentum but there’s still a long way to go and a lot of games to play,” said Levein.
“We are going to need to be at that level to climb the league table and that’s the aim.”
Franczak and Tony Gallacher suffered cramp but Levein is confident both “will be fine” for Wednesday night’s trip to face Rangers.
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