St Johnstone striker Callum Hendry a "breath of fresh air" since returning, says Ali Crawford

Ali Crawford has hailed the impact of team-mate Callum Hendry - calling his Perth return a “breath of fresh air”.

Hendry has netted three times since making the move back to McDiarmid Park in January following a loan spell at Kilmarnock.

His all-round play has earned praise from manager Callum Davidson and now midfielder Crawford is chipping in with positive words.

“I should have had the goal, to be honest,” Crawford said of Tuesday’s opener against Aberdeen. “But luckily Callum was there to stick it away. He has been a breath of fresh air since he’s come back. He has the work ethic and doesn’t give defenders an easy time.

“He has brought goals as well and, if he keeps doing that, it will obviously only help us going forward.”

Saints had taken a first-half lead against the Dons at Pittodrie during the week but a contentious second-half penalty tied things up.

“We were disappointed,” Crawford admitted. “I thought we played as well as we had in recent weeks in the first half. We limited them to shots from distance and obviously got the early goal. With our shape and pressing, we didn’t let them play.

“They came into it second half and the big decision went against us again.

“Having watched it back, it’s outside the box and the ref has given a penalty which is hard to take.

“This is what happens when you are at the bottom of the league. Decisions go against you for some reason.”

Crawford and Perth fans will be hoping Hendry can be fit for Saturday's home game against Hearts. He was forced off with a calf problem on Tuesday.

“We could probably have a full team of injured boys at the moment,” Crawford said.

“As I say, when you are down the bottom, nothing really comes easy for you. We need to stick at it and go again on