Anton Ferdinand lined up against Celtic little more than an hour after clinching his move to Paisley last month, while frontman Simeon Jackson played the full 90 minutes on his debut against Hibernian just days after agreeing his own short-term contract.

Kearney explained he has had to sift through his list of potential targets looking for players fit enough to join Saints’ fight for survival but believes he has found another with the legs to contribute in Hammill.

He said: “The predicament we find ourselves in is that the transfer window is closed, so it’s a niche market we’re looking in.

“We’re a month past the window closing so a lot of players who are unattached possibly haven’t been keeping themselves in good shape.

“If a player is going to take four or five weeks that’s no good to us.

“If you take Simeon, for example. He’s 31 and when we did his body fats this week he was at four per cent. He’s in unbelievable shape so credit to him. He came in straight away and played 90 minutes last week and did fantastically well.

“Adam is the same. He’s worked tremendously hard off the pitch to keep himself in good shape. He came in this week and breezed through the fitness tests.

“These are the types we’re looking for because we need instant results. We don’t have six weeks to get people up to speed so it’s really important we get these good pros who look after themselves and are ready to hit the ground running.”

Hammill was released by Barnsley back in May but was left frustrated as a number of potential moves, including one to Australian outfit Perth Glory, failed to materialise.

But Kearney aims to use the winger’s pent up angst to the Buddies’ advantage.

He said: “Adam’s been at Barnsley over the past few years and has racked up 300 appearances at Championship level in England, which speaks volumes about him.

“He had a good season last year and was waiting for certain opportunities to come. He actually turned down quite a few offers but has ended up caught in a quandary without a club.

“So there’s a wee bit of hurt there. Now he wants to show people what he’s all about.

“I think this is the perfect platform for him to put himself out there again.

“I believe we’re quite lucky to get our hands on him, absolutely. Promises were made but things didn’t come through and he’s been left with nothing. That hurts anyone’s pride.

“But the experience of this summer gives him an added edge, a point to prove and I get that feeling from him. That’s something we’ll be tapping into.”

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