St Johnstone midfielder Connor Smith is “getting back to his best” at Hamilton, according to his loan manager.
In September, John Rankin took the midfielder to Lanarkshire for a second spell with the Championship club after the former Hearts man drifted out of the first team picture at McDiarmid Park.
He only made one start for Saints this season – a Premier Sports Cup defeat at Alloa – and was taken off at half-time.
Smith has since featured seven times for Accies and on Saturday produced a goal and an assist in a 4-0 thrashing of Airdrie.
“Connor is getting back to his best,” said Rankin.
“We’ve had to get him motoring because of the lack of game time he’s had (with Saints).
“We’ve had to persevere with him and I can see him getting back to what I know he can do.
“He makes good forward runs, he gets balls into the box, he takes people on, but he’s also got that enthusiasm to get back behind the ball as well.”
Dare Olufunwa also joined Hamilton on loan.
The versatile defender has only appeared three times, once from the start.
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