St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson pleased to sign ‘combative’ Daniel Phillips

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson is delighted to have added the “combative” Daniel Phillips to his squad after the Trinidad and Tobago international joined the Perth club on a two-year deal.

The 21-year-old midfielder impressed the Saints boss during a trial at McDiarmid Park following his departure from Watford earlier this summer.

And Phillips, who spent last season on loan at Gillingham, is in the frame to make his debut in Saturday’s cinch Premiership match at Rangers.

“Daniel’s a real combative midfielder,” Davidson said. “He’s got loads of energy, he gets snapped into tackles and he’s good on the ball. He’s a young player with, for me, a big future, so we’ll see how he develops.”

Davidson, who has already overseen a significant summer rebuild in Perth, anticipates further transfer activity before the window closes.

“There are always moving parts,” he said. “There are still areas on the pitch we need to look at. Over the next two or three games, players can make decisions for me in terms of ‘No, you don’t need new players in this position’ or otherwise.

“You can get injuries as well, so you always have to keep looking and see who’s available.”

Saints captain Liam Gordon, who is yet to make a first-team appearance this season due to injury, stepped up his comeback bid with an outing for the Under-20s in the Challenge Cup on Tuesday and is now deemed ready for a starting place.

However, Davidson warned that the skipper faces stiff competition from Ryan McGowan, Alex Mitchell and Andrew Considine, who have shone as a defensive trio in the opening two league games.

“Liam came through a game (on Tuesday night) so he’s ready to start a game,” the manager said. “He will be under pressure from the performances I’ve had