St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson praised new signing Conor McMenamin and his agents for sacrificing money to get his move to Paisley done.
The 27-year-old Northern Ireland international joins from NIFL Premiership side Glentoran on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee, subject to clearance, with the Buddies holding the option of a further year.
Robinson told St Mirren’s official website what had to happen to complete the transfer.
He said: “It’s been a protracted negotiation but I have to pay a lot of credit to Conor himself and his agent Brian Adair and Keith Gillespie.
“They made the deal work by taking a little bit less and sacrificing their agency fee and less wages than initially agreed. That shows a real desire to come to St Mirren.
“We’re excited to have him. He’s arguably been the best player in the NIFL for two or three seasons now and was highly sought after.
“We’ve worked very hard for him and credit to the agents and the player. It’s really refreshing to see an attitude where money wasn’t everything to make the deal work and honesty from an agent.
“We’ve signed a very good footballer that can play in numerous positions. He can play right through the middle, as a wing-back and in behind the striker, so we’ve got a really versatile player who can score goals and create chances.
“In certain games last year, we lacked a wee bit of brilliance where someone can score out of nothing. We’re hopeful he’s the little spark you need sometimes in games like that.”
McMenamin made 109 appearances for Glens after joining in January 2021 and made 67 goal contributions (42 goals and 25 assists).
That came after a spell at Cliftonville between 2018 and 2021 where he netted 25 times in 72 matches.
McMenamin received his first Northern Ireland call-up in June 2022 and has since been capped by the national side six times, which includes substitute appearances in their recent Euro qualifying matches against Denmark and Kazakhstan.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to it.
“It’s been a long few weeks back-and-forth, and I’m really happy to have it over the line. I can’t wait to get going.
“The manager wants me to be who I am and play the way I can play. He knows my strengths and I’m going to try and bring my strengths to the team.
“It’s a good league with a lot of good teams here. It’s a really competitive league and hopefully I can hit the ground running.”
