Alan Mannus to part company with St Johnstone

St Johnstone goalkeeper Alan Mannus has told manager Tommy Wright he will return home to Northern Ireland at the end of the season. Picture: SNS.

The experienced goalkeeper will not renew his contract in the summer, making him the second experienced member of the squad to depart the club.

It was announced on Monday night that striker Steven MacLean would be leaving to join Hearts at the end of the current campaign, and Mannus has followed him out of the door by ending his seven-year association with Saints.

Mannus has made more than 200 appearances for St Johnstone since arriving from Shamrock Rovers in 2011, and was a member of the Scottish Cup-winning side in 2014 as well as three successive fourth-placed finishes under Tommy Wright.

The Saints boss told the club website: “I spoke to Alan about a month ago and he told me then of his desire to go back to Ireland with his family.

“After seven seasons with the club he decided that the time was right to go back there to live and to continue his career.

“I’ve known Alan since 2001 when he was at Linfield and I’ve always had a great relationship with him. He’s a model professional who has helped our younger goalkeepers enormously and he’s been a shining example to them.

“I think it’s safe to say that over the past few years he’s been in the top three or four goalkeepers in Scotland and he’s done tremendously well for the football club. He’s played a major part in what’s been a successful period in the club’s history and he was a key player in our Scottish Cup-winning campaign.”