However one player we could have got was Benjamin Mwaruwari. Released by Grasshoppers, Mwaruwari has gone on to be a revelation at Auxerre and will be up against Arsenal in the Champions League. Auxerre boss, Guy Roux, sees Mwaruwari playing alongside the injured Djibril Cisse in the near future.
Strachan had the option of getting Mwaruwari on a free in the summer when the player was offered to him. Of course Saints have a strict policy on such matters. For all his talent Mwaruwari isn't overweight, over the hill and is a prodigious talent in front of oal which completely rules him out as being part of our squad.
Meanwhile Strachan has dismissed the rumours linking Saints with Aston Villa's overpaid Moroccan squad player. No, not Cashloul, the other one, Hadji. Hadji has a stint at Coventry on his CV which makes him a prime suspect for Strachan's shortlist after Saints picked up Williams, Telfer and Hall.