Kernaghan set for return to action - June 15, 2000 St Johnstone's Irish central defender Alan Kernaghan is set to be handed a new contract by the club after winning his fight against injury. Kernaghan has not played for the Scottish Premier outfit since October 12, 1999. He suffered a pelvic problem and has been sidelined since. Kernaghan spent a time at McDiarmid Park on loan in 1997 before he was offered a permanent move. Loan spells at Bradford and Bolton were unsuccessful before that and with him not figuring in Manchester City's plans he decided that crossing the border into Scotland to get first-team football made sense. In his first full season he made a big impression at St. Johnstone. With his leadership, St. Johnstone finished third in the Premier Division behind the Old Firm duo of Rangers and Celtic and also reached the Scottish League Cup final. St. Johnstone beat Hibernian 4-0 in the quarter-final and followed that up with a 3-0 win over Hearts in the semis to set up a final showdown with Rangers. They narrowly lost 2-1 to the Glasgow giants in the final. Rangers came back to haunt them again in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup, this time winning far more convincingly with four unanswered goals. The 33-year-old former Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Republic of Ireland star has been given the all-clear to resume playing. Chairman Geoff Brown said: "We will be more than delighted to talk to Alan about a new contract to keep him here. "He has had a bad time with injury and the only reason he is still here is that Sandy Clark rates him so highly. A fit Alan is a big plus." |