St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin expects that he will have to fend off more interest for Jamie McGrath after his stellar performances with Ireland during the international break.
Goodwin was expected to lose the former Dundalk midfielder on deadline day, but two moves fell through at the final hurdle.
McGrath was heavily linked with a move to Middlesbrough and Hibs, but neither could get the deal completed in time. That was after he drew interest from Premier League side Watford in July.
Since making his move to the Scottish top-flight, McGrath has earned international recognition of his own.
After his impressive performances for Ireland during games against Portugal and Serbia, his club boss admits he would not be surprised if McGrath is the subject of more bids during the January transfer window,
"I’m absolutely delighted that we managed to hold on to one of the best midfielders in the league," he said after retaining McGrath. "That can only be a positive for us.
I would imagine, off the back of two really good performances last week for the Republic of Ireland, Jamie would have a number of other options available to him, both in January and at the end of the season.
There will be an offer on the table from us but we’re not stupid. We realise we don’t have the finances available to us that the likes of Hibs and some of the other teams down south have.
For the time being, myself, the staff, the players and the supporters here will enjoy the benefit of having him here.
Jamie, as I know only too well, will be the type of character who will knuckle down and get on with things.
He will do his best for the team for as long as he’s here.
Goodwin did, however, prepare for losing McGrath on deadline day, signing Connor Ronan as a replacement.
And he is hoping that Ronan can help fill McGrath's void. That is, if, the Athboy native moves on during the next transfer window.
"Connor is a real quality player who will excite the fans," Goodwin added.
"I think we have had a really good window. We managed to get a lot of our business done early.
"One or two fell by the wayside but I think overall we’ve got to be satisfied."
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