Like Bozo Mikulic, Zach Mitchell has become a St Johnstone fans’ favourite.
The on-loan centre-half has been a class act at centre-half since he replaced the injured Croatian at the heart of the Perth backline, playing a key part in three clean sheets and an unbeaten run of four games.
Mitchell was a man-of-the-match contender in the 0-0 draw with Aberdeen, as he has been in every contest he has started since arriving from Charlton Athletic on deadline day.
There’s not much more the 20-year-old could do to catch the eye in the league and cup – apart from one thing that took Mikulic’s status amongst Saints supporters to another level.
Goals. Winning goals.
“It wasn’t nice to hear the news about Bozo (who ruptured his ACL on the training ground),” said Mitchell.
“I knew his would be big shoes to replace.
“He was a key member of the team.
“The main priority was to make sure I added to what was already a strong defensive unit.
“Scoring goals is obviously something I can work on.
“As a team, we want to be more of a threat at set-pieces.
“It would be good to have goals coming from different avenues.
“Hopefully we can get some of Bozo’s late winners.”
Mitchell believes the point against Aberdeen is further evidence that Saints have put down solid foundations for their end-of-season Premiership survival battle.
“We went into the game with the objective of winning,” he said.
“Although we’re proud of the performance and the way we competed, we wanted all three points.
“This result keeps our momentum going, though. We can build on that.
“It’s another defensively sound display and another clean sheet.
“There are definite positives to take away.”
Perth togetherness
Mitchell added: “I knew there was great togetherness when I arrived here and that has grown even stronger over the last few games.
“The manager has got his message across about how he wants us to play, and his positivity has had a big impact as well.
“With our record over the last 10 games (only two defeats in that time) it’s evident what we’re trying to do.
“We’re building momentum, which will hopefully get us out of the position we’re in.
“Aberdeen put a lot of players on to our last line.
“It was a tough challenge.
“The key was communicating with the midfield unit and working cohesively.
“We have to be brave as a team.
“The manager always emphasises that he wants us to be brave in and out of possession.”
Mitchell’s big brother, Billy, is a midfielder with Millwall.
During the international break, they’ll get the chance to compare notes about their football.
“He’s coming up actually,” said Mitchell.
“It’s always good to get a few pointers off him. He’s gone through a similar journey.
“It will be good to catch up with him and talk about how things have been going.”
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