Borrowed Perth pro Sam leans on Blues battle for United tilt

SAM McCLELLAND is grateful to Chelsea for building him into a no-nonsense defender.

But he admits he wanted the hustle and bustle of the men’s game and a shot at success after swapping St Johnstone for Dundee United on loan.

The 22-year-old trained with stars like Olivier Giroud, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount at the Bridge.

A loan move to League Two Barrow and eventually a permanent switch to McDiarmid Park followed.

The Northern Irish cap, eyeing his Terrors debut tonight after arriving last week, said: “I trained a few times when Frank Lampard was manager.

“He was good communication-wise. It was good to train, even if it was just 20 minutes and you’re defending against their attackers in the first team.

“You see that difference and they had that yard on where to be. There were different players at times you were up against, like Jorginho playing the pass or Tammy Abraham who he brought in that season.

“I was at Chelsea for five years. I moved there from back home when I was 16 and it was a different world to what I grew up with.

“It was a great football experience, coming up through the Under-21s. I went on loan last season into League Two and that was great. That set me up to play full-time, senior football.

“Reece James and Callum HudsonOdoi were a couple of years older but I did get to train with them a lot.

“In my age group, Armando Broja and Levi Colwill were the stand-outs.

“Being from back home and watching that type of football from a young age, I’ve always wanted to play proper football. Once I went on loan I enjoyed it, it was the real thing.

“I wanted to stay at that level and not train with the academy.

“That gave me the platform to go and start my senior career.”

Now comes a chance to introduce himself to the United fans by helping them go seven points clear.

He added: “Raith is a big game. The move was sorted within four or five days. Once I heard the club were interested, it was straightforward.”