First Team
Ali McCann pens new deal
5th December 2019
The Club is delighted to announce that 20-year-old midfielder Ali McCann has agreed a new three-and-a-half-year-deal at McDiarmid Park, keeping him in Perth until the summer of 2023.
Ali - who came through the youth Club's youth academy - has made 18 appearances in all competitions so far this season and his performances have also seen him capped at Northern Ireland U21 level.
The young midfielder - who just celebrated his 20th birthday on Wednesday - spent the second half of last season on-loan at Stranraer before returning to Perth this summer and breaking into the first-team-squad.
Speaking shortly after putting pen to paper, Ali said: "I'm delighted to have signed the new contract and I'm looking forward to the next three-and-a-half-years with the Club.
"It's been in the works for a while now but to get it over the line is great. When I came back from Stranraer in the summer after my loan spell there I didn't really know how many games I would get this season.
"I just made sure I came back to pre-season as fit as possible and ready to try take any chances I was given and luckily I have.
"I always just try and take every game as it comes and do my best. It's not been a great start to the season but we've started to pick up points now and hopefully we can kick on.
"We played well last time out against Kilmarnock and it was a more solid display. There are some big games coming up for us before the break and hopefully we can pick up points and pull away from the teams around us."
The Manager was also delighted at securing Ali's future at the club, saying: "It's a great bit of business and he deserves his new contract. In my opinion he's been the best and most consistent young player in the league since he broke into the team.
"He's shown great maturity in his performances despite the team not doing as well as we'd like. He is growing and growing, and getting better with each game.
"I spoke to Ali at the end of last season and told him it was going to be a big year for him. I told him he'd get opportunities and it was up to him to take them which he has.
"In my mind I was thinking that maybe 15 to 20 appearances this season would be a good step up for him from playing with Stranraer in League One but he's been almost ever present since he first came into the side.
"And that's down to him because he's worked extremely hard. He's really easy to work with and he has a great attitude. I'm really pleased for him and for me I'm just delighted to have one of the Club's most exciting young players tied up."
Ali made his debut for the Club back in January 2018 as a substitute in the 4-0 victory over Albion Rovers and has made 24 appearances overall in all competitions for Saints.
He came back from a successful loan spell with Stranraer this summer and featured in 3 out of the 4 Betfred Cup Group Stage matches before coming on as a half-time substitute in the opening day defeat away to Celtic.