Sander Puri could make his St Mirren bow in final

ST MIRREN manager Danny Lennon has confirmed his interest in Estonian international winger Sander Puri, who could make his debut for the Paisley club in Sunday’s Scottish Communities League Cup final against Hearts at Hampden.

Puri, a free agent since leaving Finnish club KuPS in January, won his 48th cap for Estonia in last month’s friendly against Scotland at Pittodrie.

The 24-year-old is close to agreeing a short-term deal with St Mirren and is expected to join them at their pre-cup final training camp in St Andrews today.

Puri has previously been compared in style to Dutch winger Arjen Robben and was linked with a move to Celtic four years ago when he had a training spell at Lennoxtown when Tony Mowbray was manager.

“Sander is a quality player and he fits the bill for us,” said Lennon. “He’s got a fantastic pedigree so we’ll monitor him over the next two or three days. It also gives the boy an opportunity to get a feel for our football club.

“He’s not signed yet but he is a player with real quality who could go into any environment and do well. A deal could happen before Sunday, if it’s something that can work for both parties. Our club is always interested in good quality and Sander’s at a good age as well. He ticks a lot of boxes. Could he be involved on Sunday? I’ll cross that bridge if we sign him.”

One player who will miss out on St Mirren’s bid to win the League Cup for the first time in their history is experienced defender Lee Mair. The 32-year-old will see a specialist today about the stomach injury which Lennon confirmed will rule him out of his weekend plans.

“Mair is struggling and my heart goes out to him,” said Lennon, who as a player missed out on Raith Rovers’ famous League Cup final win over Celtic in 1994 through injury. “For guys at clubs like ours, games like this are few and far between.”