FINISHING SCHOOL
Matthews sees ideal launch pad at Accies
Remi MATTHEWS didn’t take much convincing when Alex Neil, his manager at Norwich City, suggested that he could further his career by heading to the Scot’s former club Hamilton for a season on loan.
The 22-year-old revealed that he has long considered the Scottish game to be a perfect finishing school for goalkeepers after watching several others blossom into international stars after serving their time north of the border.
ironically, he has become first choice for Accies manager martin Canning at the same time as his predecessor, michael mcGovern, signed a three-year deal to join Neil at Carrow Road.
‘i have watched a few keepers come to Scotland and do well in recent seasons,’ he said.
‘There has been the likes of John Ruddy, Fraser Forster and Darren Randolph, while Craig Gordon has also come back up here and he’s doing really well.
‘Kasper Schmeichel is another who came up here and he’s gone on to better things. All those players succeeded here and have gone back to england. Fraser and John have played for england and Darren is playing for the Republic of ireland.
‘When anyone says it is a step back to come to Scotland, they are wrong. You can play in front of 50,000 or 60,000 people against Rangers or Celtic. You don’t get anywhere near that level in the english Championship.
‘Scottish football is much, much bigger than a lot of people think.’
When it came to selling matthews on his move to Lanarkshire, Neil found that he didn’t need to be at his most persuasive.
‘He was here a long time and knows everybody at the club,’ said matthews, who will make his home debut against St mirren today. ‘it’s clear everybody here looked up to him. You need to have full confidence in your manager and, if he’s telling me to come here, then i need to trust him.
‘i don’t think he would send me here if he didn’t think i was good enough or that it wouldn’t benefit me. i’m 22 now and i need to play as many games as possible.’
matthews hopes that the game time he will receive in Scotland’s top tier will help him challenge mcGovern for a starting place at Norwich this time next year.
‘michael did exceptionally well in the euros and the boys here have been full of praise for him,’ he said. ‘From what i’ve seen from him, he looks a very good goalkeeper, so i wish him all the best at Norwich.’
meanwhile, new St mirren chairman Gordon Scott has predicted a bright future for the Paisley club after sealing a £1million takeover deal.
The property developer has been installed as the Buddies’ new chairman after teaming up with the St mirren independent Supporters Association to buy out a consortium led by outgoing chairman Stewart Gilmour.
Using a model similar to that implemented by the Foundation of Hearts, Scott hopes that the club will fall into the hands of the supporters within the next decade.
‘Hopefully, this is the start of a new dawn for St mirren and we can start moving forward again,’ said Scott.
‘We want to build a future that involves the fans and everybody in Paisley. Together, we can take the club forward and make it successful again.
‘We want to take the club back to the Premiership and give stability to everybody who works there.’
more than 1,300 Saints fans have backed the scheme and their monthly subscriptions will be used to buy out Scott, who put up the bulk of the cash to purchase the 68 per-cent stake from Gilmour’s consortium.
“The quality of Scottish football is really good”