Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough has told Glentoran winger Conor McMenamin that it's not too late for him to secure a cross-channel move to England or Scotland.
McMenamin, who scored 22 goals in 41 games for the Glens last season, is one of four new call-ups to the Northern Ireland squad for next month’s Nations League fixtures.
And Baraclough believes there’s a lot more to come from the 26-year-old who has emerged as one of the Irish League’s top attacking talents.
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He also believes a call-up to the senior panel gives McMenamin and others a “shop window” to showcase their quality to a wider audience.
“I feel Conor can get better and he may get a move,” said Baraclough.
“Glentoran fans and Mick McDermott won’t thank me for saying it, but going to England or Scotland is not beyond the reach of Conor McMenamin.
“He got 22 goals in the Irish League last season and that’s a fantastic return from someone who plays more in wide areas.”
Baraclough says McMenamin “deserves his call-up” after shining for the Glens in the Danske Bank Premiership and impressing in last week’s training camp at St George’s Park in England.
“I think it took him by surprise to get a call-up but he certainly wasn’t a rabbit in the headlights when he came into the camp,” he said.
“I knew he had a sore groin when he came into the training camp, but you wouldn’t have known it. He had a determination to be there and wanted to be part of it.
“He’s got a great attitude to the game and he’s still developing as a player. He’s a good age and he can still get better.”
Baraclough hopes McMenamin’s call-up at the age of 26 also acts as an incentive to others to follow suit, particularly in the Irish League.
“We don’t have a big enough pool of players to discount anybody,” he said.
“At 26, Conor might have thought that his chance had passed him by, but hopefully it’s a message to everybody, whether they play in the Irish League or England or Scotland, that they still have a chance.
“He deserves a call-up and it was recognition off the back of a really good season in the Irish League. He also showed us something (at training camp) we maybe haven’t got.”
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