By Nathan Hemmingham STEPHEN McPhail says he would like to sign a new contract and remain a Barnsley player for next season – but only if the club can match his ambitions. The Irish talisman has been an influential figure in Barnsley’s promotion to the Championship and has attracted the interest of several other clubs after a string of sterling performances this season.

His signature on a contract will almost be like a new signing for manager Andy Ritchie and the midfield ace admitted he would like to stay. “I loved the walk out onto the balcony at the town hall on Monday,” added McPhail. “The fans were great and sang ‘sign a contract’ and hopefully I will be signing it. “I definitely love the club and I want to stay but who knows? Hopefully it can be sorted out soon.” The former Leeds ace has played at the very highest level while at Elland Road, having represented Ireland and tasted Champions League and UEFA Cup semi-final footnall.

Having seen the high life, he is obviously keen to get back there. “I want to stay, I would love to sign a contract,” he added. “It is something I want to do but if it’s not to be hopefully I will have left the place on a good note. “We will wait and see what happens over the next couple of days. “Before this week, I hadn’t been offered anything as regards to next year. “I will sit down with the chairman and the gaffer because that is the main thing. I don’t want to go up and come straight back down. “We need to invest in the squad, the gaffer knows that because it is a young squad. Once everything is sorted out, I will make my decision and see what happens.” McPhail was again one of the driving forces behind Barnsley’s promotion on Saturday and despite his top level experience, it was a game he won’t forget. “To be honest I didn’t drink much after the final because I was just so tired. I tried to take it all in and remember everything, not just the good bits but the hard bits too. “We were struggling a little bit at half-time but we dug deep and it was just brilliant to get through and win the game. “I taped the match. I was going to watch it on Sunday with my mum and dad and my wife but I wanted to leave it a couple of days to let it all sink in and I will watch it next week.”

McPhail is no stranger to the big stage having performed his craft in some of the best stadiums in Europe but even he was surprised at how well their promotion party had been supported. He said: “It was frightening, what a day. I just cannot find the words to describe what I was seeing. “We’re so happy that we made it here, it has been a long hard season and we have played a lot of games. “The bus ride was brilliant. There were people everywhere and they were just so happy. I can’t put it into words. “When you see people on the TV and they say ‘I can’t put it into words’ you really can’t. “It is definitely something I am going to remember for the rest of my life. “Hopefully, there will be more of them. Like I say, the fans were chanting ‘sign a contract’ so I will see what I can do. It hasn’t sunk in yet. “It’s been non stop since the final.”