Dorman unmoved by Old Firm rumours

Published on Wednesday 29 April 2009 21:55

ANDY Dorman has denied that being linked with both sides of the Old Firm affected his performance in St Mirren's Homecoming Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.

The Saints midfielder has been named Clydesdale Bank Premier League Player of the Month for April following a series of eye-catching displays and some stunning goals.

Dorman struck four times in four games for the Paisley outfit this month, including wonder strikes against Hibernian and Motherwell.

The 26-year-old's performances saw both Celtic and Rangers linked with potential summer moves for him.

Dorman failed to hit the heights he has reached in recent games when he turned out at Hampden on Saturday as Rangers won 3-0 to seal their place in the Scottish Cup final.

While the goalscoring midfielder is flattered to be linked with bigger clubs, he insists the speculation did not get to him.

"I wasn't affected," he said. "The lads had been giving me a bit of stick but I was just looking forward to the game.

"Unfortunately, the start of the game was not ideal (Rangers scored in the second minute] and we struggled to get back into it. Rangers played very well defensively and we were not good enough going forward to break them down.

"I'm contracted here for another year and we still have a number of important games left this season and that's all I'm focused on at this moment.

"It's pleasing being linked with clubs because it means you're doing things right on the pitch. And that's all it's about for me, I've got to make sure I'm playing well for St Mirren.

"We were in the Scottish Cup semi-final and I was looking forward to that but now we've got important games coming up to keep us in the league."

Manager Gus MacPherson slapped a 1million price tag on Dorman's head in the build-up to the semi-final and the midfielder revealed his team-mates gave him plenty of abuse about that.

He said: "I don't know if the manager actually said that but the boys had a good time with it."