BARRY McNamee says he went with his gut in signing for Finn Harps.
After weeks of speculation, the Ramelton man put pen to paper on a one-year contract Harps this afternoon.
McNamee has been a free agent since November following the expiration of his contract at Derry City and Harps have fended off interest from several clubs to land the midfielder.
“I suppose in many ways it has been a long time coming,” McNamee said.
“There were a few teams in the North that I was close with but in the end I went with my gut.
“I’ve known Paul (Hegarty, Harps assistant manager) for a long time and I know about the work Ollie (Horgan, Harps manager) puts in, and they’ll leave no stone unturned in helping us push on.”
McNamee worked under Hegarty during the Ballindrait man’s time on Derry’s coaching staff.
McNamee arrives as a real blue chip signing for Horgan, less than a week out from the start of the new season.
In 2019, McNamee was the captain at Derry and he made over 200 appearance in two spells at the Candystripes.
On Friday-week, Harps face Derry at the Brandywell after next Friday’s opener, which sees them welcome Sligo Rovers to Finn Park.
Horgan believes McNamee, who trained with his squad last Monday, can help spur Harps – who survived a play-off against Drogheda last season to retain their top flight status – up the table.
Horgan said: “This is a big signing for the club and hopefully Barry can come in and help us kick on to where we want to be. He has plenty of experience and knows what it takes to start moving up the table.”
McNamee joins his brother Tony in the Harps first team squad.