Mannus: Saints still in safe hands with Zander
ALAN MANNUS insists St Johnstone are in safe hands as the keeper prepares to end his seven-year stay in Perth.
The Northern Ireland ace has sealed an 18-month deal with former club Shamrock Rovers and will move on at the end of the season.
But he insists Zander Clark is the perfect man to take his place between the sticks after a season where they’ve scrapped for a starting jersey.
Clark started last weekend in the 2-1 loss to Dundee and Mannus insists the 25-year-old is ready and able to plug the gap, with almost 50 first-team games already under his belt.
He said: “Zander has already proved he can play as a No 1. It’s not a case of asking if he is ready. We have been pushing each other for the jersey all season. I have no doubts about Zander.
“He’s already shown how good a keeper he is and I have no doubt he can go on to play at an even higher level one day.
“We also have younger keepers like Mark Hurst, who has had some time on loan at East Fife this season, Ben Mackenzie and young Ross Sinclair all coming through.
“They all have more quality about them than I did at a similar age and they’ll definitely progress under Paul Mathers. I want to go into coaching myself and he’s first class.
“I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people.”