ERIC DJEMBA-DJEMBA has insisted he is no soccer mercenary after signing on at St Mirren until the end of the season.

The former Manchester United midfielder joins Danny Lennon's side after stints in Qatar, Israel, Serbia and Denmark, hoping to play his way into the Cameroon squad for this summer's World Cup finals.

The 32-year-old built up a reputation during his time in England as someone who enjoyed the playboy lifestyle, with claims that he had 10 4x4 cars in his driveway and 30 separate bank accounts.

Djemba-Djemba, though, laughed off those stories and insisted he is motivated only by football and not financial reward.

He said: "I did not come here because I play only for money. I came here because you can enjoy playing football anywhere in the world.

"I was at Man United and then I went to Aston Villa. After that I had options from West Ham and West Brom, but I didn't go there - I went to Burnley.

"I wanted to go and enjoy my football again. I rejected West Ham and played at Burnley instead. I will go anywhere to enjoy playing football in the world.

"My agent said there was a good opportunity to go to the Scottish league. I said, 'yes, why not?' It is similar here to the English league and to me it's the same country.

"For me it's a great opportunity. The Scottish league is fantastic and it's good for the club to have me here. I am 32, but I have some years in front of me.

"I will stop football when I stop running but I will give everything to this club because they have given me the opportunity to come back. I am happy to do anything to bring the club up."

Sir Alex Ferguson signed Djemba-Djemba from Nantes in 2003 and tipped him to be the next Roy Keane.

In the end he would play only 20 times before leaving for Villa but he has no regrets about his time at Old Trafford.

Speaking to promote a Topps sticker signing event at St Mirren Park today, Djemba-Djemba added: "For me it was a good time and it was a bad time. I have very good memories of being there.

"I was too young, just 21, when I joined Manchester United. It was difficult to replace Roy Keane at that age. But I trained and played with great players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane.

"It was a great moment in my career and I hope I can bring that experience here."

Lennon hailed Djemba-Djemba as the most high-profile signing the club had ever made and could hand him a debut in Sunday's William Hill Scottish Cup tie away to Dundee United.

The St Mirren manager said: "He's probably the biggest signing ever for St Mirren when you look at his previous transfers.

"He's one I believe will excite our fans. I think he'll fit in well to our philosophy and I'm positive it's going to be a relationship that works well for both parties."

Meanwhile, Saints defender Marc McAusland has lost his appeal against his red card in their 2-1 defeat by Hearts last week. The centre-back will miss the SPFL Premiership game against Aberdeen on February 15.