We caught up with new signing Gary Harkins, following a whirlwind start to his Latics career.
The 29 year old midfield man signed on loan for the remainder of this season from St Mirren last Friday, before making his Latics debut 48 hours later in Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Anfield. “It was great just to be involved so soon and to get on was brilliant, I really enjoyed it, the fans were superb, though I think I should have had a penalty, I certainly felt a push.”
Harkins began his career at Blackburn and enjoyed loan periods at Huddersfield, Bury and Blackpool before making the move north of the border in June 2007 via a spell at Grimsby Town. Gary then became a team mate of Latics manager Lee Johnson at Kilmarnock where together they won the Scottish League Cup, beating Celtic 1-0 at Hampden Park.
Gary describes himself as a ball playing, attacking midfielder, though when coming through the ranks at Blackburn he was seen as a defensive midfielder or defender. Speaking about his move Harkins added “This is a great opportunity to play at a very good level in England, I’ll have to remember now that when Lee shouts at me I can’t shout back! He is very much the gaffer and I’m looking forward to working with him and to helping the team push up the table.”
Before making the move south, Gary had this season featured 17 times for St Mirren, scoring twice. In his career to date he has over 275 senior appearances to his name and 47 career goals.
Gary Harkins' kit is Sponsored by NMU