St Johnstone's Theo Bair "excellent" in Aberdeen bounce game as striker now set for big few weeks

Upcoming Premier Sports Cup fixtures will be “massive” for striker Theo Bair to show what he is capable of.

That was the message from manager Callum Davidson, who has been impressed with the Canadian’s hard work and level of performance in pre-season.

The 22-year-old netted against Aberdeen in a 1-1 friendly draw on Friday as Saints completed a six-day training camp in the Spanish sunshine.

“Theo was one of those struggling with a wee niggle at the start of the week but he was excellent in the bounce game against Aberdeen,” Davidson said.

“The goal was a wee ball in behind for him to run onto a finish from a tight angle. He made a few of those runs in the game. With Theo, I think he’s suited to playing as a nine on his own. He likes that role.

“If he can use the physical attributes he has a little bit more in an aggressive way he’ll be a handful for any defender he comes up against because he’s quick as well. And he can definitely finish.

“People forget Theo is only 22. He’s still learning the game. It’s a big pre-season for him and the cup games will be massive.

“He’s an intelligent guy who will speak about football – I do like players who like to talk about the game and understand it better.

“We’ve got Macca working with him on getting him to stay in the box more. That’s the easiest place to score from. It’s something we’re working on with all our strikers. We’ve brought in players to deliver more quality and they’ll get more chances.”

Young Ukrainian Max Kucheriavyi gave a good account of himself in the Dons friendly in Murcia, while recent arrival Adam Montgomery got plenty of minutes.

“Max played as well,” Davidson said. “He was really good too.

“It was just a closed-doors game but we were up against good opposition