Del eyes-up Subo deal

Jul 15 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

DEREK McInnes is eager to slash through red tape which is holding-up his bid to add striker Danijel Subotic to his Perth squad.

The 22-year-old striker is keen to sign-on for St Johnstone but international clearance is still required from the authorities following a short spell in Romania with Universitatae Craiova.

Bosnian born Swiss U19 international Subotic limbered-up with the squad before the 2-0 midweek win at Dundee and will train again today in advance of tomorrow’s final public outing at Ayr, seven days before the SPL kick-off in Aberdeen.

McInnes will have Shamrock Rovers keeper Alan Mannus on board by then and he also wants Subotic after impressing in trial outings.

Saints have been working on the deal behind the scenes and McInnes said: “I would like to have Danijel signed-up but we have to clarify his registration situation with the international authorities. We have to establish that he is free to join us.

“Danny has indicated he wants to sign for us and we have been impressed with him over the last three weeks.

“I am sure he would be a good addition to our squad.

“But we have to get this resolved as soon as possible. The start of the season isn’t far away now and we have to know exactly where we stand.

“Hopefully we can progress it over the next few days. Right now it is out of our hands but we are still looking to do more business.”

McInnes will speak with Canadian trialist Marcus Haber today and he may get another run at Ayr to stake a claim for a contract.

Impressive midfielder Kevin Moon was withdrawn from the derby win at half-time to protect a calf knock but he should be fine for the weekend. Murray Davidson missed out with a thigh injury but should face Ayr and Carl Finnigan’s blisters kept him sidelined at Dens.

Reflecting on another pre-season win McInnes said: “I think we looked quite comfortable against Dundee in what could have been a difficult match if our approach hadn’t been right.

“I would liked to have had more to show for all our possession but we got a great goal from Dave Mackay and Stevie May found space in the box for the opener. That’s a good habit he has. I thought Frazer Wright and Steven Anderson were outstanding at the back.

“Now we have a game at Ayr. They beat St Mirren last week so we can expect a tough game. It is all geared towards next Saturday. This time next week we will have that knot in the stomach knowing we are going into a game for real.”

THE away game at Ayr tomorrow starts at 3pm.