Mallan forces St Mirren boss to ponder contract

Stevie Mallan has forced St Mirren manager Craig McLeish to consider giving him a contract after joining pre-season training following the midfielder's release by St Johnstone. The 30-year-old only managed 11 starts and eight substitute appearances after joining the Perth club last summer after nearly two years out of football through injury and was released following their Scottish Championship title win. "Stevie did pre-season with us last year as well off the back of a longer-term injury when I was taking the 19s," McLeish told BBC Scotland's Sportsound. "The plan initially was that he would come in and train and then, when we were away to Spain, he would train with the under-19s. "But he did that well in the first week that we thought we have to take a look at this and seriously consider it and he's been fantastic. "He's come back and he's so fit and he's been really good around the place, really energetic and shows his quality on the ball has never left him. "He just needs a run at it - a run of games." Former Scotland youth midfielder Dylan Reid,the 21-year-old who was sold by St Mirren to Crystal Palace in 2024 but released this summer, is also on trial. St Mirren have lost captain Mark O'Hara to Kilmarnock, sold defender Miguel Freckleton to LASK, while striker Mikael Mandron has rejected a new contract and moved on. "We lost big players - Mark, our captain, decided to move on and Mika as well, they are big shoes to fill, but we still have a core group of experienced players," McLeish said. "We are still in a really good place with where the squad is. "We still have to add to our forward line and it depends on whether some of the boys move on - there's some interest in some of our players."