Sam Corcoran believes he can help St Albans City’s push for the top spot after making his debut in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Redditch United.

City announced the signing three weeks ago but Corcoran has been training with the first team for around three months while his clearance from Albany Creek Excelsior FC of the Australian Brisbane League came through.

He then suffered a set back after breaking his foot in training.

It’s been a long road for Corcoran so he was delighted to get 58 minutes under his belt.

“It was really nice to get on the pitch; now I need to get my fitness back and help the team,” he told the Herts Ad.

“The team has done really well this season so hopefully I can bring something else to the team to help us push on.”

He added: “I felt a bit sluggish out there but I’ve been out for three months so hopefully Tuesday [against Biggleswade] will be a lot better and we get three points.”

First team coach Harry Wheeler was impressed with Corcoran’s debut.

“He needs the fitness, you can see he wants to do the right thing in right areas and he keeps the ball moving.

“The sharpness will come. We’ve thrown him into a competitive game and I think he did alright. From seeing him [in training], he’s a very good acquisition and one of the best players I’ve worked with.

“Best thing was to give him 60 minutes and hopefully he can come back in Tuesday and go from there. It’ll take time but he’ll keep getting better and by the time the play-offs come, he’ll be massive for us.”