Tony: Saints went above and beyond
Andreu’s on his way – but so grateful for furlough help
Tony Andreu insists he was lucky to be a St Mirren player when the Covid-19 pandemic struck Scottish football - despite not being offered a new contract by the club.
Andreu was one of eight first team players announced to be leaving the Buddies earlier this week.
But the affable Frenchman paid tribute to the Buddies for doing everything they could to support him and his fellow released players since the season’s abrupt end, including retaining them on furlough so they can continue to earn a wage while searching for a new team.
“The club have been absolutely amazing through all of this,” the 32-yearold told Express Sport.
“The furlough scheme has given us stability to help us which has been the one positive in this whirlwind of craziness.
“I was lucky to find myself at St Mirren at this time because other clubs might not have done that. A lot of other Scottish clubs let players go straight away.
“Even if I was staying with the club this amount of time away from the game wouldn’t have been easy.
“But especially given the uncertainty around football at the moment, if we had been released straight away it would have been even more difficult.”
The former Hamilton Accies attacking midfielder was Jim Goodwin’s first signing in July.
He went on to make 36 appearances for Saints, scoring twice and grabbing a handful of pivotal assists despite making many of his appearances from the bench.
While it was Andreu’s decision to only sign a one-year deal, which has left him without a club for next season, he insists he has no regrets but admits it is a bittersweet feeling leaving the club at the end of a curtailed campaign.
He said: “I feel OK about leaving. I was offered a two-year deal when I signed but I wanted to keep my options open because I still like the idea of playing abroad again.
“It’s a real shame to finish my time at the club like this though, with three months at home instead of making a difference on the pitch.
“It’s a bittersweet moment because I wanted to say goodbye to the fans. It’s been an amazing year for me at an amazing club.
“I’ve been so proud to be a part of it and since day one I’ve been so surprised at how supportive the fans have been all season.
“Even when we’ve been through hard times and have had difficult results, they’ve always been with us and as a player you always want that.
“There’s absolutely no hard feelings on my part leaving the club.
“I’m happy to have played my part in keeping the club in the Premiership and be a small part of the club’s history.”
I’ve been so proud to be a part of it and since day one I’ve been so surprised at how supportive the fans have been
Tony Andreu