General
- Thursday November 18th, 2010 @ 22:04
DAVID MCALLISTER TALKS TO STPATSFC.COM
As news broke this week that he was officially joining English Championship side Sheffield United, stpatsfc.com caught up with David McAllister and we asked the midfielder for his thoughts on the following:
On moving from the Airtricity League to the Championship
It was a big step up this season going from the first division into the Premier division so trying to break into a championship side will be another major step up and challenge for me.
Obviously I've been lucky to make an impact this season and get this chance.
I'll no doubt be up against a lot of talented youngsters, many from some of the top academies but looking back, I've played well over 100 games in the league of Ireland and that's been a great experience which hopefully will stand to me.
Growing up playing schoolboy soccer I would have wanted to make the move to a UK club as soon as possible but in some ways I think I have had the best of both worlds. I've seen friends come back from the UK with nothing to fall back on.
I've been able to finish my education, enjoy the school years, go to the school debs and things like that and still get the experience of playing in the league here. I'm now getting the chance to make the move and I feel the timing is right.
On joining Sheffield United
I think they had some people over to look at me towards the end of the season and then once the season was over I was invited over to Sheffield to train with the team.
Straightaway I was impressed with the facilities– the training ground, the gym, the indoor soccer pitches - everything was laid out for you and everything was really top notch.
It's a friendly club with a few Irish players already there and I guess that helped as well.
On the reaction to joining Sheffield
My family and friends were delighted, I've been getting non-stop texts and congratulations from nearly everyone I know and would you believe some have even started asking about match tickets and planning trips over already!
On his season with St Pat's
It was disappointing for the team the way it fell away at the end but on a personal level it couldn't have gone much better. My aim was to break into the team and play matches which I did, though a few more goals would have been nice.
Pete and John have been a huge help to me and both have given me plenty of good football advice.
At the start of last season I was nearly joining another club when they persuaded me to sign for Pat's and I haven't looked back.
On his immediate plans
I've got a training schedule already to maintain. I'm back over again to Sheffield next week for training and after that I'll be available for selection from 1st January.
This Saturday I'll be going to the supporter's player of the year night which I'm looking forward to.
Of course I'll be keeping in touch with a lot from St Pat's and I'll be following developments at the club and at the league ahead of the new season.
David McAllister is due to be in attendance at St Patrick's Athletic Supporters' Club Player of the Year night on Saturday 20th November in the Spa Hotel Lucan and the midfielder's signed jersey will be one of the auction items available on the night.
A small number of tickets for the event priced at €20.00 are available from the club shop.
