Former Par McManus says The New Saint is coming... to silence the Scottish boo boys
Declan McManus believes he moved to Wales from Dunfermline Athletic three years ago for success and to laugh at social media punters as The New Saints take on Airdrieonians this afternoon in the SPFL Trust Trophy Final.
No team outwith Scotland has won the competition yet but the Welsh side are chasing a quadruple this season and already have two trophies in the cabinet at the Park Hall stadium.
The lure of European football was there for the Glaswegian striker when he swapped Dunfermline for Oswestry in 2021 and he netted against Swedish side
BK Hacken in the Champions League earlier in the season. Hacken subsequently defeated Aberdeen in the Europa League play-off just a few weeks later.
After scoring a combined 68 goals on Scottish turf, McManus has taken his game to a different level with Craig Harrison’s side, netting 62 times in 74 games.
His family are settled in nearby Chester and he wants to take a trophy back to Wales after getting roasted on social media for his departure from Scottish football.
He said: “There’s plenty of Scottish fans out there that were saying when I moved down here, ‘Why’s he went there?’.
“I can remember back then people on Twitter were saying I was going to disappear.
“I was coming down here and there was lots of incentive to go – I was joining a big club with big aspirations in Europe and domestically.
“If we win on Sunday then it’s one way that I can say that it worked out not bad.
“In football, if it’s going well on the park then it’ll be a lot easier off the park. I’m down with the wife and three kids and they’ve taken to the area very well.
“We stay in Chester, the kids enjoy their school, and the school’s brilliant for them.
“I think everything has worked out well.
“What’s been happening on the park has clicked into place, the football’s gone really well for us and I’ve done well personally.
“Every aspect has worked out well.
“This cup has a wee bit of extra spice for me and it’ll be special for me coming back to Scotland – I’m in the Welsh side playing against the Scottish side.
“Us getting to the final shows there’s not much of a difference between the Welsh and Scottish game.
“I, personally, think we could hold our own in the Championship and challenge at that level.
“Obviously, we play European football as well so every game is different and the league campaign is different from the cup.
“With the infrastructure we have at The New Saints, we would handle ourselves in the Scottish game, no problem.
“I’ve been trying to get enough tickets – I’ve ended up having to sell a few as well!
“There’s not many times that family and friends get to watch a game.
“Our family have come to Wales over the last few years to watch a game here and there but it’s on everybody’s doorstep this time so I’ve had a few requests for tickets.”
McManus knows the quality Rhys McCabe’s side have at their disposal and he expects a similar tussle to the one that saw TNS prevail over Falkirk in the semi-finals to reach the final against the Diamonds.
He added: “It’ll be very similar to the Falkirk game.
“It’s two sides that want to go and lift a trophy – we’re coming off the back of winning two trophies so far but that’s forgotten about.
“We want to go all the way and try to win all four trophies.
“The main thing is doing this for ourselves, the club and Welsh football.”