St Johnstone starlet, Fran Franczak, is the consummate young professional off the pitch, according to club captain, Nicky Clark.
And he’s developing into an important cog of the first team on it.
Franczak, just 17, backed up his impressive performance against Celtic with another excellent display in the 1-1 draw with Hibs.
The Polish youth international caught the eye in two different positions and has put his hand up to make it three starts in a row when Dundee visit McDiarmid Park on Sunday.
“Fran’s brilliant,” said Clark. “A great boy with great energy.
“Off the pitch he’s a great kid who wants to learn.
“He mucks in and does the other side of things that people don’t see – cleaning boots, cleaning this place.
“He doesn’t moan about anything. He just gets on with it and it’s great to see that.
“On the pitch, he’s brilliant. He works hard, gives his all and has a lot of quality as well, as you can see when he’s on the ball.
“He is only going to get better.
“But the best place to learn is playing first team football in the Premiership in Scotland.
“He was excellent on Sunday against a really good Celtic side where he dug in.
“I thought he did great in a different position against Hibs, showed he’s more than capable of playing in other roles.
“I would love to see him stick around here and fight for his place in the team, definitely.”
January transfer window
Franczak’s return to the first team scene has been a welcome boost but Clark knows that the squad also needs bolstered by the addition of senior pros.
“We need a couple in,” said the skipper.
“Young kids were on the bench who have earned the chance – they’ve trained with us and done really well.
“That’s good to see. The gaffer has made it clear he is willing to give them opportunities.
“But we probably need two or three in to help us a little bit – a couple of experienced ones who can come in and push for spots in the starting 11.”
Adama Sidibeh was another player who earned Clark’s praise after the 10-man draw with Hibs.
“I thought Adama was excellent,” said the former Dundee United forward. “I said that to him during the game and after it. His is work-rate was brilliant.
“He should have had a few free-kicks that weren’t given.
“Down to 10 men, he was holding the ball in and centre-halves were hitting into the back of him.
“He wasn’t getting the rewards he should have for his hold-up play in those moments.
“It’s a hard shift being up there on your own down to 10 men and playing against three centre-halves. You’re kind of running on empty, chasing lost causes and balls over the top to help the team.”
Win against Dundee needed
Saints stopped the rot by drawing with Hibs but only victory over Dundee will be viewed as success.
“When Hibs scored, it was important that we dug in and worked as a team,” said Clark. “We stuck together.
“We showed that we do have a good bit of grit about us. We’ve got that fight.
“We can take positives from that into Sunday. It’s a huge game for us. We need to pick up three points.”
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