Francisco Sandaza became the third new St Johnstone striker signed in four days. The 26-year-old former Dundee United man will team up with Marcus Haber and Cillian Sheridan after being lured back north by Derek McInnes following a brief spell with Brighton.
While the Valencia youth product has admitted the Tannadice club will always have a special place in his heart, his number one priority now is impressing his new fans by hitting the back of the net on a regular basis.
Sandaza, who has agreed a one-year deal, said, “I really enjoyed my first season at Dundee United but the second one, when the club won the cup, was terrible for me personally.
“It was totally different because I had a groin injury, but the club treated me well and I regret how it ended at United. The club will always be in my heart.
“Because of that, if I score against them this season I don’t think I can celebrate. I am sure the St Johnstone fans will understand and I want to score many goals for them this season to make them happy.
“During my career I have scored goals whenever I have been fit to play games. I know some of the players here already David Robertson was at United with me I still have friends here and my English has improved. I think I can do even better than the last time I was here. “My first season at United was the best of my whole career, but the next one was a nightmare. While the team was winning the cup, I was out for seven months with an injury.
“It didn’t go the way I wanted, I had many problems. So I have a point to prove. Maybe this time at St Johnstone I can show the Scottish supporters how good I can be.”
Sandaza, who took part in his first training session yesterday, admitted it will take a few weeks to get match sharp after spending the summer back home in Madrid.
He explained, “I haven’t played for two months and have been training by myself. I will have to be patient and the gaffer will make the decision on when I am ready.
“But I feel good already and I am looking forward to scoring goals for St Johnstone. I have played at the stadium only once, in a 2-2 draw, but I didn’t score against Saints.”
Sandaza’s last club, Brighton, will be playing in the Championship this season after winning promotion, and he believes his brief stint on the south coast can be viewed as a success.Happy with performanceHe said, “I scored five goals in 500 minutes and I was happy with my performances. I felt I did well and was expecting another contract, but my relationship with manager Gus Poyet wasn’t good at the end.
“On the last day of the season I was still expecting to sign a new contract and be playing in the Championship, but finally the manager decided he wasn’t going to offer me a new deal. Football is like that.
“But when I signed for Brighton I made a big mistake. They wanted to sign me for two years but I thought they would be playing in the Championship this season and I could negotiate a better salary.
“But now I am back in Scotland and looking forward to playing for St Johnstone.”
The Perth squad may look packed with strikers at the moment, but Sam Parkin is thought to be a month away from first-team contention, Sheridan is only at McDiarmid until the end of the year and Stevie May could be loaned out.
Manager Derek McInnes said, “I’m delighted to bring Fran in. He’s done well in this league before and everybody who has worked with him says he’s a striker who knows where the goal is.
“Fran coming into the mix will be good for us. He struggled with a hernia in his second season at United. Craig Levein was a huge admirer of him and has given a ringing endorsement.
“Having spoken to Fran, he’s got a real appetite to play here. For us to get a proven SPL goalscorer is very difficult but that’s what we’ve got. He’s hard-working and industrious and is always the type who’ll get chances because he’s in and around the goal when crosses come in. “You get a lot of strikers who do a lot of good things, but ultimately that’s where you want them in the danger area.”
Meanwhile, McInnes believes there were promising signs from the Sheridan and Haber combination at Pittodrie on Saturday.
He said, “There was a concern about starting both boys because neither has 90 minutes in them yet, but the 25 minutes when we paired them together was probably our best period of the game. I thought they unnerved the Aberdeen back four.
“Marcus has made that impact for us before as a substitute, but we don’t just see him as a sub, we want him to start games.
“He’ll be hungry to do well this year. Sometimes when you go out on loan you’ve got the mindset that you’ve got a club to fall back on, but he’s playing for his future now and hopefully that will bring an added determination.
“He knows the league, knows me, and knows the club so hopefully there won’t be a settling- in period. He’s got to hit the ground running. Cillian will take a bit to get up to speed, but he’ll score goals too.”