Hoops sign up Gilchrist from the Scottish Saints

Shamrock Rovers have announced their first signing of the new year with the addition of defender Ally Gilchrist from St. Johnstone.

The 22-year-old player had trained with the Hoops in 2017 and, while a loan move didn’t materialise at that time, Stephen Bradley has stepped in to sign the central defender in a permanent move for the 2018 season.

“He's left-footed and can play a bit as well,” Hoops head coach Stephen Bradley told the club's media team.

“He's a good age for us and fits in well with what we're doing. I believe he adds a lot of quality to the team and the squad.

“If you look at us, we're a big side all over the pitch now. You have to defend a lot of set pieces so it's a big part of this league. Ally is a big lad and he adds to what we have in the squad in terms of physicality. He's a very good defender, quick and strong.”

Gilchrist was on the books at St. Johnstone for nearly seven years but got limited game time there. His match experience came on loan away from the SPL club. He played in Scotland's lower leagues, initially with Elgin City before helping Peterhead reach the League One Playoffs and the 2016 Challenge Cup final against Rangers.

“On my loan spells I scored a few goals,” said Gilchrist who is now looking forward to a fresh start away from Scotland. “I was a few years younger. There were a lot of older, more experienced players in those leagues.

“It taught me a lot in that sense, how to play against bigger, stronger and more experienced players. It was definitely beneficial for me. Playing in front of a crowd like that in a cup final at Hampden Park was probably the highlight for me, regardless of the result (losing 4-0)."

Gilchrist already has European football experience having played for St. Johnstone in the Europa League last year against Lithuanian side FK Trakai (losing 3-1 on aggregate). “It was a great experience to play in the Europa League games but it was just a shame I couldn't play more. It'll be quite a personal achievement to play in Europe two years in a row, hopefully it comes about that way.”

He was a teammate of Alan Mannus at St. Johnstone. The Northern Ireland international goalkeeper, who played a couple of Champions League qualifiers with Rovers in 2011, encouraged Gilchrist to make the move.

“I got along really well with Alan Mannus and he spoke really highly of the club. He only told me good things, that everyone is very welcoming and it's a great standard. It's a big club and I'm really excited about all the games coming up.”

The Hoops haven’t made too many moves in the transfer market but have brought two defenders into the squad – with Gilchrist joining Ethan Boyle who joined from Finn Harps (see here). The duo will go some way to filling the hole left by the departure of Simon Madden and David Webster from Tallaght.

From the midfielders within the 2017 Rovers squad, Ryan Connolly and James Donna have left  Tallaght with Greg Bolger coming in from Cork City (see here). The Hoops have re-signed Gary Shaw, Tomer Chencinski, Graham Burke, Brandon Miele, Luke Bryne, Kevin Horgan and Sam Bone.

Speaking about his squad for this coming season, Bradley acknowledged they are still looking to bring more players in but he noted that; “there was a lot of chop and change here last year."

"We're very happy with what we have as a squad and there will be one or two more coming in that will add more quality to it. There's no panic.

“Supposedly we've been after every player in Ireland and missed out! We've been looking in the UK and Scandinavia, not just in the last few weeks but for a long time. You're always looking." 

?? NEW SIGNING | We are delighted to confirm the signing of Scottish defender Ally Gilchrist ahead of the 2018 season. #GilchristSignspic.twitter.com/H5dUEWRIqr

— Shamrock Rovers F.C. ???????? (@ShamrockRovers) January 4, 2018