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‘Slimmer and lighter’ Elliot Watt has caught the eye of St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari

The on-loan midfielder has been benched of late.

Simo Valakari gets a message across to Elliot Watt in the warm-up.
Elliot Watt has taken advice from Simo Valakari. Image: SNS.

St Johnstone loan midfielder, Elliot Watt, has taken on board his manager’s plan for improvement.

And the former Scotland under-21 international is a strong contender for a weekend recall against Celtic as a consequence.

Perth boss, Simo Valakari, admitted he came very close to starting Watt last time out against Hibs after the Burton Albion playmaker impressed him in training and two closed-doors games.

He last featured for Saints in the McDiarmid Park defeat to Hearts towards the end of February.

But Watt’s spell on the bench could soon be coming to an end.

“I was using Elliot in the international break and even in the preparation for the match, he was so close,” said Valakari.

“It was in my head to start him.

Elliot Watt in action for St Johnstone.
St Johnstone midfielder Elliot Watt. Image: SNS.

“But that’s easy to say on a Tuesday morning.

“He is working so hard.

“When he came, we started this process with him to change a couple of things.

“He is working very hard every day on those things. I can see the difference.

“He is slimmer and lighter. There is a difference.”

‘Crazy’ football

It’s only a matter of time before Celtic are crowned Premiership champions.

And, with Saints bottom of the league and favourites to go down, the size of the task for the hosts on Sunday doesn’t need explaining.

“There is no hiding,” said Valakari.

“They are a top, top team. Football is crazy, that’s the only thing.

“The situation where we are, it doesn’t matter who we play, we play at home and we need to go and try to win the match.

St Johnstone boss, Simo Valakari on the touchline during the game against Aberdeen.
St Johnstone boss, Simo Valakari. Image: SNS.

“What I like most about them is their relentless teamwork. You can see the clear pattern.

“It doesn’t matter who they play, they execute the patterns they’ve worked on at the training ground. You can see that.

“Everyone is following the plan. That makes them such a good team.

“They have quality players who make good decisions in their rotations, and they do it from the first minute to the 90th minute.”

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