Ali McCann is on course to follow in the footsteps of Alan Mannus and become the next St Johnstone player capped for Northern Ireland.
It didn’t come as a surprise to the veteran goalkeeper that the 20-year-old midfielder’s career has risen sharply over the last year because Mannus became accustomed to seeing a succession of promising young players emerge from the Saints academy in his time at Perth.
But it did come as a surprise that his former team-mate was a fellow countryman!
“In my last year Ali was just breaking into the first team squad,” said Mannus, who played for Northern Ireland on nine occasions and was part of Michael O’Neil’s squad at Euro 2016.
“He was starting to get involved a bit more.
“I played in the Scottish cup game against Albion Rovers (in January, 2018) when he made his debut as a substitute.
“I didn’t know there was a Northern Ireland connection at the time. He didn’t mention anything.
“I’ve heard the talk about him getting called up for the full squad. He’s another one Tommy (Wright) has managed to bring through the academy at Saints. Look at the team now – there are quite a few of them.”
McCann isn’t the only Saint who has a chance of being part of the Northern Ireland set-up after football emerges from the coronavirus lockdown.
The indefinite postponement of the Euro 2020, now Euro 2021, play-offs will almost certainly mean that Michael O’Neill’s tenure as head coach of the national team is over.
Recruiting his successor will soon become a priority at the IFA and Mannus believes his old manager at McDiarmid Park is in with a strong chance of getting the job.
“You’ve seen managers from similar size clubs who have got opportunities,” said the 37-year-old. “The likes of Alex Neil.
“He deserved his chance in England but at that Tommy had done a lot more.
“The IFA will have Tommy at the very top of the list – maybe him and one or two others.
“They will definitely be well aware of what he’s done. He played for Northern Ireland, captained Northern Ireland and has coached with the national team as well.
“Everyone in the game knows him over here and thinks very highly of him.”
Mannus retired from international football after the Euros in France and the club game has been his focus since then, first with Saints and now Shamrock Rovers.
The current season was shaping up to be one of great promise for the Dublin club, who had opened up a three-point gap at the top of the Premier Division thanks to their 100% start.
There is no talk of wiping out a campaign that is in its infancy, and Rovers have good reason to hope that remains the position.
“The lockdown is the same over here as it is in Scotland,” said Mannus. “You can get out to the shops to get food but that’s about it.
“We were only five games into our season when things stopped. We trained on the Thursday and had a game planned for the Friday night.
“On the day of the game it was called off, initially for two weeks, but we all knew it would be for longer.
“I’d imagine it’s a lot more difficult in Scotland trying to work out what to do with the rest of the season.
“We’ve got more time on our side.
“The contract situation affects things in Scotland as well. Over here they run out in either November or January.”
A solution has been talked about in Ireland but, as with the rest of the football world, Covid-19 may have other ideas.
“There are 10 teams in the league and we play each other four times,” said Mannus.
“What they’re looking to do is scrap one round of fixtures and make it three times.
“That means nine less games and they can scrap one of the cups as well.
“We did well in the league last year. Dundalk have been the best team for the last five years or so but we really pushed them and beat them in a cup final.
“We had a feeling that this was going to be our year and we started really well.
“It is only five games but we’ve beaten Dundalk and the team who finished third, Bohemians. They’re our big derby rivals.
“Hopefully the league is able to continue. Nobody is talking about scrapping it yet anyway.”
Mannus, who left Perth in the summer of 2018 after seven successful years, looks back with his time at the club with great affection and pride.
“I always think that I was very lucky to be at St Johnstone in that period for the club,” he reflected. “The players, the staff and the supporters made it a special time to be there.
“Some of the games we played were amazing and it was a special group of players.
“I couldn’t have asked to be treated any better. I’ve been very lucky in my career to have had that at all my clubs. Sometimes players want to forget their time at a certain club but that certainly isn’t the case with me.
“I always keep an eye on the results.
“I’m sure the fans would have been thrilled in the summer that Stevie May signed for the club again.
“He had that one season when he was unbelievable for us. He was such an important player. It’s great that he’s back and that the club is still doing really well.”
