Elite pair helped McNamara see Saints loan move as path to riches
BEFORE he embraced the challenge of a loan move to St Johnstone, Danny McNamara did his due diligence. Calls were placed and advice sought on the club, city and league awaiting the Millwall defender. The 21-year-old also did some extra homework on those who had went before him.
James Maddison’s six-month spell at Aberdeen is an obvious touchstone for any young footballer looking to make the cross-border switch but going back a little further he was intrigued to learn of Matt Doherty’s brief adventure at Hibernian.
Like McNamara, Doherty was an Irish Under-21 right-back in search of first-team exposure when Pat Fenlon invited him to join Hibs from Wolves in 2012.
While his short stay in Edinburgh could hardly be described as a roaring success — he was a starter tarter as Hibs were humiliated ed by city rivals Hearts in that hat year’s Scottish Cup final nal — the loan proved an n important stepping g stone in the defender’s s development, a journey y that has ultimately led d to a £15million transfer r to Tottenham.
McNamara knows he’s e’s a long way from scaling g such heights but, in a struggling glinggg Saints team, he has made de a good impression during g his opening weeks in n the Premiership.
‘It was a long distance e for me to come to o Scotland, so before I came, I looked into a lot ot of stuff,’ he said. ‘First rst you look at game time, , will I be playing or not playing, and will it develop me? ?
‘Straight away I had feedback on just how good the league is, how much it will develop me and also spoke to people about the players who have moved between Scotland and England.
‘The likes of Doherty and James Maddison come into that, of course. They came up here and went on to do so well, so hopefully I can do the same.’
Just as Scotland are overloaded with options at left-back, so Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny can call on both Doherty and Seamus Coleman to fill the right-back role.
McNamara knows he has a high bar to overcome if he is to make it to the full set-up but he is determined to try.
‘You can always learn by watching clips and games,’ he said.
‘Doherty and Coleman are both players I watch and admire, they want to get forward and put crosses in the same as I do in this wing-back role. I also like watching Trent AlexanderArnold and the way he crosses and fires passes in.’
Although he speaks with a London accent and was born in Sidcup, McNamara qualifies for Ireland through grandparents who hail from County Longford.
McNamara has been named in the Irish Under-21 squad for the qualifier against Italy: ‘It’s a massive game for us, we are top of our group just now and if we beat them we have a good chance of qualifying. It would be the first time Ireland Under-21s have ever got to the finals. I’d love to be part of that.’
This afternoon he’ll come up against another fully-fledged Irish internatio international defender in Shane Duffy Duffy, who has moved to Celt Celtic on loan from Br Brighton for the rest of th the season.
‘Shane is a massive character in the Ireland squad and has been for many years,’ he continued. ‘It’s great for me to get the chance to te test myself at this level and ge getting a result against Celtic would be even better. ‘T ‘They are a good team. Ih I have watched Jeremie F Frimpong recently and he’s a good player, direct and very good in the final third. He ha has an end product and is a player I’ve looked at on T TV and thought: “He’s decen decent... I can learn from him too” too”.
Ulti Ultimately, tl t the goal for McNamara is to do well enough this season to persuade his club boss Gary Rowett that he is worthy of a first-team berth at Millwall.
The presence of Callum Davidson at McDiarmid Park helped smooth the loan move through but the Perth side have endured teething problems under the new manager, suffering three consecutive league losses. Even so, McNamara feels he is operating at a higher standard. Last season, he spent time in England’s League Two with Newport County. This feels like a step up.
‘Before I came up the gaffer pulled me aside and said it would be a fantastic opportunity, that I’d learn a lot up here,’ he explained. ‘It is a tough league, obviously it is similar to the Championship, definitely a step up from what I was playing last season. ‘I would say it is similar to the standard at Millwall, so it is a very good level.’