Alexander McQueen pens deal until end of season
Carlisle United Football Club can confirm that defender Alexander McQueen has signed a short-term deal which keeps him at Brunton Park until the end of the current season.McQueen initially joined the Cumbrians in the summer of 2015 and made 26 appearances for the club through his first campaign.
He was offered a new deal by manager Keith Curle when the season drew to a close, in May 2016, and returned to train with the club as a free agent in September last year, playing in a number of reserve fixtures as he looked to earn a new deal.
He penned a short-term contract at the beginning of December, and extended his stay beyond the end of the transfer window in January 2017 as he made a further three appearances for the Blues this season.
Manager Keith Curle said: “Alex is a young lad who has some excellent attributes, but he’s at an age and a stage of his career where he needs to be bringing them to the table consistently. There are a lot of things about him I like, and that’s why I’ve decided to keep him with us.
“He has a turn of pace and an instinct to get forward, both of which are attributes needed by full backs in the modern day game. We saw him utilise his skill sets very well during his first season with us and that’s what we want to see him do again.
“We’re giving him an opportunity to prove himself and I have given him clear guidelines for what I want to see from him going on from here. In his last starting appearance I thought he did well for us defensively, but he didn’t fully engage in the way we know he can when it came to the attacking side of the game. He’s desperate to do well, so he’s got himself into a mindset where he’s over thinking it, and that’s holding him back a little bit.
“I’ve told him not to try too hard and to take the safety catch off, as he did when he first came here. As we all know, if people are trying too hard to get things right they tend not to deliver as well as when they just believe in themselves and get on with it.
“Alex is a good player and we’re keeping him here because we think he’ll settle and start to give us some consistently good performances.”
London-born McQueen came through the Tottenham youth ranks and appeared as a regular in the Development Squad at White Hart Lane.
He was also included in the Europa League squad to face Benfica in March 2014. The versatile player featured at left back and in central midfield with Spurs, but played most of the 2014/15 season as a right back.
Please note - this signing remains subject to the clearance of all paperwork with the English Football League.
