Craig Levein hopes to welcome Wigan defender Luke Robinson back into his St Johnstone squad this week.
The 22-year-old was recalled by Latics boss, Shaun Maloney, at the start of the month on the back of an excellent first half of the season at McDiarmid Park.
Robinson came off the bench for 15 minutes of a New Year’s Day clash with Barnsley but hasn’t featured since.
And Maloney recently recruited Liverpool left-back, Luke Chambers, on loan.
That has opened the door for Robinson’s return to Perth, with Levein hoping that the former Scotland youth international can quickly get back into his old routine.
“Luke was improving,” said the Saints manager. “And it will be about whether he can get going again and start where he left off.
“That would be my hope anyway.
“Luke was one of our most consistent players and, for a young lad, that’s good.
“Not only did he have a level of consistency, he played for us at left wing-back and at left centre-back in a three.
“He covers two positions for us and has done both of those without any noticeable stress at all.
“He does his job efficiently and he’s a good kid.
“I really like him as a guy and as a player. I’m sure he is going to get better.”
Kerr Smith’s strengths
Levein has secured three January signings so far, one of those being former Dundee United defender, Kerr Smith, on loan from Aston Villa.
“I see Kerr as a centre-back,” he said. “I think we needed a different type of one.
“I had obviously seen Kerr at Dundee United and he has other strengths he can help us with.
“This is his first loan. He has to prove himself on the training ground.
“When he gets an opportunity to go in the team, he needs to play well because we have been playing fairly well defensively.
“Kerr still has a considerable amount of growing to do, not so much up the way. A year or two from now, he will be a unit.”
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