Flashback Irish eyes weren’t smiling for Saints
St Mirren haven’t always rolled the dice on the final day of the window but there was no lack of drama when they appeared to have signed Irish full back Ian Harte.
The former Leeds man had verbally agreed a deal with Gus MacPherson that would have seen him join the Paisley club until the end of the season,
But despite the Buddies having pretty much announced the signing, Harte then performed a dramatic U-turn at the last minute.
You would have expected MacPherson to be fizzing... but aparrently not.
He said: “We just have to accept it and move on. Our preparations have been hampered more by the weather.
“It’s disappointing but that’s the nature of the game we’re in.
“I’ve not heard from Ian myself No deal
St Mirren FC is a club with a proud tradition — and a history to match.
They have been at the centre of the Scottish game since their formation in 1877.
Today, we look back at the will-he-won’t-he signing drama surrounding Ian Harte.
but, through other parties, I believe the deal is dead.
“I spoke to Ian at length on Thursday night and I was led to believe a deal had been agreed, although it’s never done until the player puts pen to paper.
“He was talking away and he was fine and was on his way up. He’d spoken to our general manager, Brian Caldwell, and we’d also spoken to his representatives and we got a phone call on Thursday afternoon to say the deal was agreed.
“The way it was left was that he said he would phone me in the morning. He said he wanted more time to speak to his wife.
“It’s a player’s prerogative to sign or to change his mind but, in the last conversation we had, he said he would phone in the morning after speaking to his family.”
There had been speculation within the game that Harte and his representatives had used Saints to entice other clubs into offering the player a more lucrative deal.
However, MacPherson would not be drawn on that, adding only that “time will tell.”
“The transfer window has shut and there are only one or two players who are available,” he said.
“We were looking in that area and the Ian Harte deal was one we tried to do quickly.
“We were led to believe that Ian wanted to get playing again and we were willing to give him that chance.
“In terms of a short-team deal that could have worked for both parties, we were able to offer him something but he’s had a sudden change of mind.”
Instead? St Mirren signed Mo Camara...