St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright has never seen Chris Millar play better than he is at present.
The Perth midfielder has hardly put a foot wrong in the first four games of the league season.
He was in the running for man of the match awards against Ross County, Celtic and Aberdeen, and was one of the few Saints players to emerge with credit from the trip to Hamilton.
Millar enjoyed several good seasons in a Saints shirt before Wright arrived at McDiarmid with Steve Lomas, so the Northern Irishman can’t say for sure that this is the best form of the Greenock man’s Saints career.
But he can say it’s the best that he’s seen.
“Midge has a level of consistency now which is high and he is probably in the best form of his time since I came in here,” Wright said.
“When we first came here he played right midfield quite a bit. He does a job there but he is better in a more central role.
“He keeps things quite simple but his energy levels are incredible. You fear he is running out of energy sometimes but he just keeps going.”
It is the variety to Millar’s game that is a bonus to a manager.
Wright added: “He can play a holding role or get box to box.
“If we play a three I think he likes having the freedom of someone behind him so he can go press the ball.”
All that is stopping Millar becoming the complete midfielder is goal-scoring.
The former Celtic man’s drought stretching back to the Scottish Cup replay against Brechin back to March of 2011 has become a standing joke in the Perth dressing room.
Wright noted: “He knows what he needs to improve his shooting.
“He had one effort against Aberdeen which ended up with David Wotherspoon. He says it was a pass but if that’s the case he must have some vision.”