JP Delighted to Join Clyde
Clyde’s latest signing, Jon-Paul McGovern, has given an exclusive interview to the official website following his move to the club yesterday.
The highly experienced midfielder started by explaining how the move came about and also giving his first impressions of the club:
“Ayr United offered me a new deal at the end of last season, but I just felt that I wanted a fresh challenge at that time. I made the move to Stirling Albion but unfortunately it just didn’t work out for a few different reasons; that can happen sometimes in football.
“I spoke to Stirling about not being happy there and I left the club on Monday night. At that point my availability was made public and Barry called me quickly to discuss a move to Clyde, which I was very intrigued about.
“I took phonecalls from a couple of other clubs but after speaking again to Barry and also knowing some of the other boys at Clyde, I decided that it was the right place for me. It was really Barry’s enthusiasm that convinced me though – it took me back to the feeling I had when I was a younger player.
“The chance to work with someone like that, who’s been at such a high level in the game, was a big factor. He is very professional in his approach on and off the pitch and he takes care of the things that you take for granted at bigger clubs. I took part in my first training session on Tuesday and I have to say that it was first class.”
Away from football, JP explained that he is kept busy with his own business but that it is a good fit with joining The Bully Wee:-
“I own a tearoom in Glasgow. It’s a family operation and it’s really hard work, but I enjoy it and it allows me to get to training and matches without too much problem.
“Part-time football fits in well with running the business, but it’s not just about that. I still want to be at a club that’s ambitious and still tries to do things right. I very much got that feeling about Clyde and the manager so I’m delighted to be here.”
JP concluded by confirming that he was keen to get involved in first team action as soon as possible:-
“I haven’t played for the last two weekends and already I’m desperate to get involved again! I played three full matches at the start of the season and I’ve been doing extra training sessions on my own so I’m fit and ready to go if the manager wants me to play.
“I’m confident in my ability to carry out a role for the team but I know that I’m going to have to work hard to get a position. I’ve joined the club knowing that no-one is guaranteed a place.
“It’s been an interesting start to the league overall and there have been a few surprise results. It looks like there are going to be a lot of tight matches and getting the first goal will be important most weeks. There’s a really good squad of players at Clyde though, so we should be confident about being able to challenge at the top.”