TOMMY WRIGHT, the St Johnstone manager, says he is yet to make a decision on the futures of trialists Liam Craig and Rhys McCabe - despite both players impressing in their 0-0 friendly against Real Sociedad.
Craig, a former fans' favourite at the Perth club, played the full match against the La Liga side at Bayview and was arguably the stand-out performer, almost breaking the deadlock in the second half.
McCabe also did little wrong during his 60-minute outing, showing a decent work ethic and composure in possession. And Wright, speaking following his side's first fixture since their miserable European exit at the hands of Alashkert of Armenia, insists he is keeping his options open as he looks for reinforcements.
"I thought Rhys and Liam did well," Wright said. "But there's been no movement in terms of bringing them in.
"We'll continue to look at players, not only the players we have on trial. We are monitoring a few things."
Raffa de Vita, meanwhile, is warning Ladbrokes Premiership rivals that Ross County are entering the new season packed with quality.
The Italian attacker saw his team leak three goals against League Two neighbours Elgin City in their 5-3 victory at Borough Briggs but pointed to the calibre of signing that has brought competition in every department of the Dingwall squad.
Ross County now head to Hungary for a training camp and two tour matches against Soroksar SC on Tuesday and Szolnoki MAV on Saturday. The 27 year-old former Blackburn Rovers, Livingston and Swindon Town winger said: "We are shaping up well for the new season. From what I've seen, the new boys have a lot of quality and they all bring something different to the table.
"There is competition for places all over the park,with two players vying for every position. Nobody can afford to relax and think that your place is safe for the rest of the season."
Elsewhere, Greg Tansey is convinced Spanish flair player Dani Lopez is the perfect fit for John Hughes' technically-focused approach at Inverness.
Lopez, 29, began his career with Atletico Madrid and later joined Getafe and Espanyol, but never made it past 'B' team level. Hughes, the Inverness manager, went into Saturday's 1-1 friendly against St Mirren still without an experienced striker, just a few days before his club's historic Europa League debut.
But Tansey is certain Lopez would be a valuable capture. "Dani has that extra bit of quality," he said, after scoring a free-kick against St Mirren in their friendly match on Saturday. "I'd say he fits very nicely into the way we play. He's very good on the ball and can take it under pressure as he's quite strong. He can turn and get shots off."
There were plenty of positive for new St Mirren manager Ian Murray in the match, with former-Rangers attacker Alan Gow's superb 20-yard free-kick levelling things up.
Murray was pleased at his team's early progress in pre-season.
"Caley Thistle are a good bit ahead of us in matches given their European involvement and have had a shorter break after their cup success," Murray said. "It was only our second game and a good step up from Ayr United the other night, but once we got to grips with the game we did very well.
"We took 15 minutes to get going, but after that we played a lot better. "
Hibs midfielder Scott Allan, meanwhile, insists there is a lot more to come from him after admitting he was not even fully fit at the start of last season.
The 23-year-old's admission that there is room for improvement is a frightening prospect to the rest of the Championship after he was named the league's player of the year last term.
Allan, who has vowed to see out the final year of his contract at Hibs amid interest from Rangers, said: "You don't want to miss too much and having missed pre-season last year, I want to hit the ground running and improve on things from last year.
"It took me about three-and-a-half months to catch-up last season. I have already improved my fitness by two levels from where it was at the end of last season when I was playing every week. Pre-season gives you that base level of fitness to kick on.
"I feel as if Alan Stubbs has already got some of the best out of me last season but I think he is the man who can improve me again. I've enjoyed my time here, it's the happiest I have been. I have another year here and I enjoy it."
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