WAKE-UP CALL McPake Star Josh took hint to avoid scrapheap

SIMO VALAKARI reckons Josh McPake would have been on the football scrapheap if he hadn't changed his ways.

- BY FRASER MACKIE

The St Johnstone winger was offered to clubs in January after a sorry first six months in Perth.

But there were no takers - and that told the exRangers starlet he needed to sharpen up his act or face wasting his career.

Saints boss Valakari has worked tirelessly to get the best out of McPake.

And the hard graft from both has paid off with the 24-year-old voted William Hill Championship Player of the Month for August.