Jamie McGrath could find himself back in the St Mirren team tomorrow evening - just in time to face the club who almost signed him earlier on in the transfer window.
The influential playmaker was left out of the Buddies' matchday squad altogether last week, with the Paisley side picking up wins against Dundee United and Ayr United on the road in his absence.
Saints boss Jim Goodwin revealed last week that McGrath’s focus wasn’t fully on the pitch with transfer speculation continuing to swirl around the Ireland international’s future, with this evening’s opponents Aberdeen recently missing out on a pre-contract swoop for the 25-year-old.
But now Goodwin feels the talented midfielder is in the right headspace to return to the fold after holding clear-the-air talks at Ralston this morning.
Goodwin told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “Jamie is still very much a St Mirren player and still very much a part of my plans.
“All that speculation is still floating around, but until something is confirmed or otherwise then Jamie will continue to be a part of our squad.
“It can be distracting for young players when there is that speculation flying around.
“But I had a really good conversation with him this morning (Monday) and just told him to get back focusing on playing football and let all the off-field matters take care of themselves.
“That’s why players have got agents at the end of the day. Let them deal with that stuff, Jamie needs to get back to doing what he’s good at, which is playing football and having a positive impact for St Mirren.
“Whether he signs a pre-contract with someone this month, or whether he moves before the window shuts remains to be seen.
“While he’s here he needs to focus on playing for St Mirren and he’s in a good place right now.
“He’s no good to anybody when he’s missing games like he has the last couple for us because of the distractions around him.
“I think we’ve managed to get beyond that now. We’ve cleared the air and Jamie trained really well this morning.
“I think his focus now is back on playing for St Mirren and what will be will be thereafter.
“He agrees that he needs to get his head down and play well for us for the time being. At the end of the day he’s contracted here until the summer and what happens in between that shouldn’t impact his game or his mentality.
“He needs to stay focused on the job in hand and commit to St Mirren for the time being. Right now there’s nothing but speculation and I’ve just asked him to put all that to the back of his mind.”
McGrath faces a tough task to get straight back into the starting XI, with Greg Kiltie shining in his place in the Buddies’ last two victories.
The incentive for Saints is huge as they know a win tomorrow night would bring the Buddies back to within just three points of the Dons, who currently sit in sixth in the Premiership table.
