Sam McClelland and St Johnstone both got the Tommy Wright seal of approval when the former Perth boss was asked for his opinion from opposite sides of the McDiarmid Park club’s latest transfer deal.
Wright should soon be confirmed as McClelland’s Northern Ireland under-21 coach, while his ties with Saints and Steven MacLean need no explanation.
And MacLean, who has also recruited ex-Liverpool and Southampton free agent Oludare Olufunwa, confirmed that it was a case of a ‘thumbs up’ all round.
“I did speak to Tommy,” he said.
“We speak regularly – always have done since I left St Johnstone as a player.
“Tommy has seen Sam play and he got some background stuff for me.
“I think Sam spoke to Tommy about St Johnstone as well – so we’ve both done our homework!
“It was actually our analyst, Liam, who brought Sam to my attention.
“We weren’t aware of him.
“Then we did our background work.”
Boxes ticked at Barrow
McClelland’s performances on loan from Chelsea in England’s League Two convinced MacLean that the 21-year-old would be the right man to strengthen his central defence.
“I watched a lot of videos of Sam’s games at Barrow,” he said.
“Obviously, it’s incredibly difficult to make the breakthrough at Chelsea.
“He’s got a really good pedigree and is highly thought of as a young player.
“He’s got a lot of attributes we’re looking for.
Back-to-back clean sheets for Sam McClelland & Barrow. 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/mahYilEljY
— Chelsea Loan Army (@ChelseaIoanArmy) September 18, 2022
“He’s aggressive, he’s good enough on the ball and we think he can improve in a few areas with us.
“We’re excited to get him in.
“He’s really, really looking forward to playing with us.
“It was refreshing speaking to him.
“Sometimes you speak to players and agents and it can be about what they’re getting. ‘Can I get this?’ or ‘can I get that?’
“This conversation was just about football – him wanting to come here to play, get better and continue along a pathway to get where he wants to be.
“It was great to hear.”
Aggression
Alex Mitchell quickly became a fans’ favourite at McDiarmid and MacLean believes McClelland will match – and possibly surpass – the Millwall man’s combative and aerial qualities.
“He wants to defend,” said MacLean.
“Coming up here, you know you’re going to have to be able to deal with balls into your box.
“He’s an Alex Mitchell type – probably not quite as quick as Alex but he’s certainly aggressive. Maybe even more aggressive and better in the air than Mitch.
“He’s been in at Coleraine doing stuff over the summer and has trained with us since Friday.
“He looks in great physical condition. He’ll keep training this week with a view to playing on Saturday.”
Like McClelland, Olufunwa has English academy pedigree.
But he lacks first team football under his belt.
“Of course, that makes Dare a bit more of a gamble because he’s not played,” said MacLean.
“But when I watched him and having now seen him train, the potential is there.
🎥#SaintsFCU18s defender Oludare Olufunwa is next up to face the Academy Focus spotlight: pic.twitter.com/W9ai2boJww
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 9, 2017
“He’s a big boy, he’s quick and strong and he’s hungry.
“He’s had a few injuries in his career so that’s probably why he’s not kicked on as much already.
“Dare can play centre-half or right-back.”
Age range cover
MacLean is happy with the age blend of his central defensive options.
“Liam (Gordon) and Andy (Considine) are both good pros who will help these young defenders,” he said.
“Andy is at an older stage, Liam in the middle and these two young ones now.
“I think that’s good. You need to sign for the future but also for now.
“The way I sell it to them is that they can use this as a stepping stone. No disrespect to our great club but players want to go to the top level and it’s great to have ambition.
“When you’ve been at the academies like Liverpool and Chelsea, they can see the big players coming in with what they’ve got and how much they earn.
“You’ve got to aspire to get back to that.
“They’re both available for selection so it’s nice to have a decision on my hands to make. I’ve not had that in the cup.”
