St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson revealed striker Conor McMenamin moved for less wages than initially agreed to ensure his switch to Paisley went through.
And the Buddies boss believes the 27-year-old can be the “spark” his side were missing last season as they look to build on their top-six finish.
The Saints saw three initial offers knocked back by Glentoran, who felt they didn’t represent the true value of the forward – who scored 43 goals in 114 games for the Glens and won six international caps.
But with McMenamin extremely keen to make the switch to Paisley, the clubs finally agreed a deal understood to be an initial six-figure sum of around £125,000 with add-ons that could see the fee eventually rise to £200,000.
The forward, who has been described as one of the NIFL Premiership’s best players in recent seasons by journalists in Northern Ireland, joined yesterday on an initial two-year deal – with St Mirren holding an option for another year.
Robinson paid tribute to McMenamin and his agent for making sure the switch was financially viable for both clubs.
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.
“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 admitted it had been a long week but was pleased to get the move signed off yesterday afternoon.
He told stmirren.com: “I’m really looking forward to it (getting started). 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.”
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