Northern Ireland attacker Conor McMenamin revealed his emotions were “all over the place” before Glentoran eventually agreed a deal with St Mirren for a move to Paisley.
After weeks of negotiations which left the winger “too many times” feeling the transfer was not going to happen – and after the 27-year-old and his agents made financial sacrifices – he joined the Buddies on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee, subject to clearance with Saints holding the option of a further year.
McMenamin, cousin of Buddies midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce, spoke about the “bit of tug-of-war” before he arrived in Scotland.
He said: “For weeks it was back and forth. We were close, we weren’t close. It was off, it was on. It was really hard to take.
“My head was all over the place for a while but we are here now and I am delighted to be here.
“The club couldn’t reach the transfer fee. Glentoran obviously had a number in their head and it had to be met or the move wasn’t happening.
“It was my determination to make it happen. So we all got together and did our bit to make the move and hopefully that will pay off.
“Great credit to my agents Brian Adair and Keith Gillespie, they worked really hard to get the deal done, and obviously myself and St Mirren, we all played our part in getting the deal done.
“I am really excited and hopefully I can hit the ground running. It is a big challenge for me and I wanted to try it. Hopefully I can put my stamp on the Scottish league.”
McMenamin put his career in social work on hold to attempt to go as far as he can in football.
The former Linfield and Cliftonville player said: “Three and a half years ago I was still in a part-time job and I went full-time and it’s really kicked on since I went full-time.
“I went full-time with Glentoran and sort of got a taste for it and it has brought my game to a new level, obviously with Northern Ireland and now I find myself here.
“I was training to be a social worker. I worked in health care and then I took a career break.
“Hopefully in the years to come I might look at it again but now I am fully focused on football.
“That’s why I was obviously so determined to make the deal happen. I am 27 now, I am not a young boy, coming into my peak years some would say, so I was really determined to make it happen. Hopefully I can kick on.
“It is a new experience for me and if you don’t try it you will never know.”
Later in the day St Mirren announced the signing of Mikael Mandron on a two-year contract subject to clearance.
The French forward joins Saints following the expiry of his contract at fellow cinch Premiership side Motherwell.
The 28-year-old has spent most of his career in England with spells at the likes of Sunderland, Wigan, Colchester, Crewe and Gillingham before making the move to Motherwell in January 2023.
Speaking to stmirren.com, Mandron said: “I feel great. I’m very happy to be here.
“I know what the league is about and I know how football is played here. I’ve really enjoyed life and football in Scotland so that was a big reason for me joining.
“I’ll bring experience and I’m an honest, hard-working player. I think I’ll bring good energy to the squad as well and hopefully I can bring goals and wins to the team.”
Buddies boss Stephen Robinson said: “We’re delighted to welcome Mikael to the club.
“We’ve searched for a target man all summer to replace Curtis Main and we feel he’ll be a good replacement for Curtis. He’s someone I’ve watched at both Crewe and Gillingham and he’ll bring us experience and a real physical presence.
“We have a lot of quick forwards in the likes of Alex Greive, Stav Nahamani, Conor McMenamin, Lewis Jamieson and Kieran Offord and we feel Mikael will be the perfect foil for those types of players.
“He had a difficult time at Motherwell with a niggling injury but we’re confident he will play a big part for us going forward.”
