Georgie Kelly has vowed to hit the ground running at St Pat’s after joining from Dundalk for the rest of the season
The striker sealed a loan move late last night with free agent David McMillan heavily linked with a return to Oriel Park after a spell in Scotland.
Kelly was told over the weekend that he could move and jumped at the chance to join his former Dundalk coach Stephen O’Donnell.
The Donegal man said: “The option to come to Pat’s happened very quickly over the weekend.
“Dundalk told me that I was free to talk to a couple of clubs and within a couple of days I had made the decision that St Pat’s was the right place to be.
“I’m looking forward to getting going and picking up a few points.”
Kelly continued: “Having the chance to work and play for Stephen was a huge pull for me and a big reason in my decision.
“Stephen’s general football knowledge is as good as anybody I’ve come across in the game and I can’t wait to get involved.
“The big one is to learn and pick up bits and pieces from Stephen. Hopefully I can kick on.
“But there is no time. We have to get up and running and get straight into it. I probably haven’t played and got as many minutes as I would have liked over the last 18 months.
“So I’m just looking forward to playing games and hopefully chipping in with a few goals and picking up as many points as we can.
“I have no doubt we will do well and hopefully push Rovers and Dundalk all the way.”
Saints boss O’Donnell is delighted to land a big name signing ahead of the restart although Kelly won’t be eligible against his parents club at Oriel Park on Friday.
But O’Donnell said: “I know Georgie well from working with Dundalk and it’s a big coup for us to get him in with the group.
“They will make him feel welcome and the coaching staff cannot wait to get working with him.
“The way the season is with the pandemic, it’s going to be a whirlwind when we kick back in.
“It’s a real boost for us and our attacking options, which were already very good but adding Georgie to the list gives us another dimension.”
St Pat’s face the champions at Oriel on Friday and then host Derry City at Richmond Park on Monday.
O’Donnell said: “We’re all very excited by the restart and we’re going into a hectic schedule.
“Five games in 16 days will be very taxing on the players after being off the pitch for so long but we’ll make the best fist of it that we can.”
Meanwhile, Brain Maher - who has been on loan at Bray Wanderers - has left St Pat’s by mutual consent.
