St Johnstone may just have found the missing piece of the Perth midfield puzzle.
Melker Hallberg is not long in the door but his arrival has already helped to paint a rosier picture in the fight for Premiership safety.
The central midfielder joined from Hibs last month with a good reputation but a player perhaps yet to fulfil his utmost potential.
Minutes into Tuesday night’s crunch fixture at the Tony Macaroni Arena, this guy was plating up a performance of real quality.
You can quickly tell when someone possesses natural ability and that very much appeared to be the case with Hallberg.
His transition into the red and white away strip of Saints was seamless, his cushioned close control most welcome and range of passing pleasing on the eye.
The slick Swede, wearing the number 29 jersey, showed the latter off in full when he zipped a cross-field pass into the path of wing-back Callum Booth to set the move rolling for a very well-worked opening Callum Hendry goal.
Hallberg did not only show the kind of attributes required when in possession, without the ball he showed energy, determination and was not scared to give his team-mates a piece of his mind when a pass failed to arrive at his feet quick enough.
Understandably, having not played many minutes at Easter Road in recent times, he did tire and was replaced in the 71st minute to the warm applause of the Perth support. On came experienced operator Murray Davidson.
Having that kind of player to bring off the bench would be most welcome for manager Callum Davidson who, backed by chairman Steve Brown in January, now has options at his disposal and fierce competition for places.
Another debut had been ticked off the list in the 61st minute when centre-back John Mahon, recently signed from Sligo Rovers, replaced skipper Liam Gordon.
Mahon is a unit. A big guy with a big presence and his performance in the final half hour of the match, like Hallberg, goes down as a great positive for the weeks and months ahead.
He left Sligo with a heavy heart and their fans were gutted when his departure was confirmed - and you can see why. This is a footballer who will give everything for the badge.
Only on the park a matter of minutes, his dominant aerial ability and determination to get the better of the opposition attacker was clear as day.
And hopefully his height and strength can come into play up the other end of the pitch too, where Saints could do with a scoring outlet from the set-piece.
Eight new faces in total, coupled with loan recalls, have been brought in for the fight for survival and already that seems to have provided the required shot in the arm. But there is no time to revel in Tuesday's glory.
It is imperative that the performance is followed up with another positive display in this weekend’s Tayside tussle with Dundee United at McDiarmid Park.
Selecting a starting line-up in the coming weeks is going to be quite the challenge for Perth boss Davidson. That, you imagine, is a challenge he will be delighted to face head on.
