WATCH Connor Shields for long enough and you’ll see flashes of the player Sunderland once believed was worth taking a punt on.
It’s in the way he so effortlessly motors away from a man here or his ability to get into the right areas there. On his day, he’s got that kind of raw talent that can cause panic to ensue in any backline when he starts galloping.
By his own admission, there haven’t been enough of those moments at Motherwell. That’s why he finds himself plying his trade at Queen’s Park for the rest of the season, but, if Friday night was anything to go by, the Spiders might just be about to see the best of the former Queen of the South man.
When asked why he opted to join Owen Coyle’s promotion chasers, Shields’ answer won’t have surprised fans of Alloa or the Doonhamers.
“It was more about playing through the middle, which I prefer,” the 25-year-old said. “The Motherwell gaffer didn’t see me doing it there. As soon as I spoke to the gaffer here, I was set on coming here. I had a few options but this one suited me best.
“It was an easy decision.”
He added: “At Motherwell I was playing more wide and I wanted the chance to play through the middle again. Fingers crossed I can do that here.”
If he can, Queen’s Park might have a player on their hands. They’ll hope he’s the same Shields who scored 11 goals in his most prolific season yet when he led the line for Queen of the South. That form led to his Motherwell move which, so far, just hasn’t worked out as anyone planned.
Another thing that didn’t work out was Queen’s Park expulsion from the Scottish Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their win over Inverness Caley Thistle. New of their exit had come just hours before Friday’s 2-0 win over title rivals Ayr United, and Shields was full of praise for his new teammates’ response.
“I missed during the week but the gaffer told us it was done now and we had to put it behind us,” the former Albion Rovers man said. “The reaction was brilliant but I know some boys will be disappointed. They showed great character.”
Another man hoping a January move can kick start his season is Reece McAlear, the Ayr United midfielder. After enduring a frustrating six months at Tranmere, the former Motherwell youngster is ready to prove himself in the Championship again, having played so well in the Inverness team that narrowly missed out on play off promotion last year.
The 20-year-old said: “I want to play games and help Ayr get promoted. I had the feeling last year of getting to the play off final and I don’t want to feel that disappointment ever again.
“We will go for automatics and that’s what I want to do.
“The way they play and the fanbase was behind the move. You saw them behind the goal. They had packed it out. I just want to do my best and help get the team promoted.”
