The second part of a feature on academy player Ross McParland, who is currently enjoying a spell with Maltese club St Andrews FC…
There have been a few rumours floating around McParland, with clubs from all around supposedly interested in the striker. From clubs in Malta, to Canada, to Scotland – lots of clubs are talking about him.
“I’m just focusing on myself, making sure I keep doing what I’m doing. I just want to do well for St Andrews because they’ve just looked after me so well since I’ve been here,” McParland responded, when asked about the rumours.
“At the moment, I’m just keeping my head down. Whatever happens, happens. I’m happy playing here, but it’s still a good feeling to know other clubs are interested.”
The President of St Andrews, Jason Falzon, spoke about their search for a young star and the player’s time at the club so far.
“In Malta, in our division, we are allowed to sign five foreign players in total – four of which are seniors and one youth player,” said Falzon.
“We identified the characteristics of the player we needed to fill the youth spot. Having looked around, we got in contact with Justin [Tellus] and spoke to him about Ross.
“Ross was exactly what we were looking for. We needed a pure striker, someone who could shoot with both feet, a fighter by nature, and just someone who was strong and robust – your typical number nine.
“He came over for a couple of weeks and he seemed like a very nice person. Those two weeks were very important for us, not just for us, but for him to adapt as well.
“The boys in the team were very welcoming. Ross made friends with everyone within the first few days.
“To put it simply, we wanted Ross to score goals. Now, he’s the top scorer in the youth division.
“He’s still a young player and is still learning. But there are so many positives.
“As time went by, the senior team coach had his eye on Ross and promoted him to the first team. He’s already making his mark.
“Obviously, it is much tougher playing with men as it is much stronger, but he is holding his own very well. It’s just nice to see him doing well and enjoying it.
“He has adapted to a lot of different styles, too. Adapting can be difficult but he has managed well, better with some tactics than others, but we are happy.”
Following on from McParland’s view on the rumours, the President of the club also had his say: “His agreement with us is until the end of the season. There are other clubs in the league who are interested in him. For now, we want to get through his season and see where we stand.
“We are concentrating on this season. I’m not sure where would be best for him to play. I’m not sure where he intends to play either.
“The UK is a much bigger footballing nation than ours. He might fancy his chances there, especially in development terms and financial terms.”
St Andrews FC is another club that Chesterfield could potentially look to forge connections with, as the Maltese club sound positive that a relationship would be beneficial at both ends.
“Right now, our connection to Chesterfield is just through Justin as a contact, but we hope to form something bigger with Chesterfield as a club,” Falzon said.
“I’m sure we can help each other, even if just sending teams over to play friendly games or having training camps over here in Malta, or maybe transferring of players.
“Football is all about community, it’s more than just playing the game and earning money.
“We want to learn from new clubs and work with them to create relationships.”
