General
- Wednesday December 4th, 2024 @ 16:25
Jay McClelland Extends Contract
One of the most experienced players in the St Patrick's Athletic squad will be back for 2025, Jason McClelland has extended his contract at Richmond Park.
McClelland arrived in Inchicore ahead of the 2020 campaign and will be heading into his 6th season as a Saint next year.
The 27-year-old has made 128 appearances for the club, scoring nine times, in the current St Pat's squad, only Chris Forrester (378 appearances) and Jamie Lennon (218) have played more times for the club than Jay.
The former UCD midfielder was part of our 2021 and 2023 FAI Cup winning squads, coming on in both finals against Bohemians at Aviva Stadium.
Watch Jay's interview on our YouTube below.
"The last five seasons at the club has been great so I'm looking forward to my 6th year in 2025.
I've loved it here, St Pat's has been part of my life and my families life over the last five years and I'm looking forward to continuing that.
It's a really exciting place to be, everything is improving in the league overall too.
We had the lockdown just four games into my time at the club back in 2020, we've had a real boom in support since then, especially with the cup final wins in 2021 and 2023, everywhere we go is sold out, home and away, so it's a really good place to play football.
We've been back on the pitch and in the gym this week, seeing all the lads again and welcoming the new players into the group and helping them settle in, we've had a good re-introduction to things after having a month off, it's been great."
Manager Stephen Kenny said:
"Jason has been an integral part of St Patrick's Athletic for the last five seasons, so we're pleased that he's agreed to extend his stay with us.
He has an extremely high level of professionalism, his attitude to training is always first class and he is a brilliant team-mate.
He has shown his quality, things like his goal in Galway last season with a strike from distance.
Jason has great skill and technique and an excellent football brain, he is a terrific crosser off his left foot too and has the versatility to play in virtually every position, making him a valuable member of the squad for the season ahead."
Director of Football Ger O'Brien has also welcomed today's news:
"We are delighted that Jason has committed back to the club for the 2025 season. Having been here since 2020, playing almost 130 games, he is one of the most experienced players in the squad.
His attitude is excellent and his professionalism is to the highest standard and he will continue to play a big part for the team going forward."
The winger started out with Shamrock Rovers underage then had spells with Templeogue United, Peamount United and Crumlin United before returning to Rovers at U19 level.
McClelland joined UCD AFC in July 2015 and moved quickly from their U19s into their First Team, making his first senior appearance in a friendly against Liverpool in July 2015 before making his LOI debut against Cabinteely in the First Division the same month.
He made over 100 appearances for The Students and was part of their 2018 First Division winning squad.
