Playing Staff – Up date

With pre-season training due to commence this coming weekend, only four weeks to the day that the previous campaign ended with promotion being gained at Peterhead, it is probably an appropriate time to update supporters on the current situation with regard to the first team squad for the season ahead.

We will start with the departures, some of which we admit have been a disappointment to ‘Loons’ fans.

As has been well documented Martyn Fotheringham decided at the end of his testimonial season to move on in the hope of attaining more regular first team football in the colours of our neighbours Montrose.

Martyn had given ten years great service to Forfar Athletic and there will always be a welcome for him at Station Park.

Stuart Malcolm has moved into the management side of the game taking up a position as Assistant Manager at our Ladbrokes League 1 rivals Albion Rovers.

Thomas O’Brien advised the management team at Station Park within days of the conclusion of the season that he intended to move elsewhere, but there is no hiding our disappointment that along with Danny Denholm he has pitched up with our local rivals Arbroath.   However economics always has to be a factor and for whatever reason and despite all the efforts the Station Park board put in behind the scenes on the fund raising front, the ‘Lichties’ were  able to make both players a financial offer we could not match.

Lewis Milne has decided to head off to Perth in Western Australia to sample both football and the different style of life on the other side of the world.

As regards Josh Peters, he had an agreement with the club that if a chance to join a full time club came along at the end of his one year contract at Station Park, he would be allowed to leave with no compensation being sought.  Livingston have come in and made Josh an offer to join them and not surprisingly the former Hibernian striker has decided to take up that option.

To date Scott McBride is only new face, but a striker has verbally agreed a deal with Gary and has only to put pen to paper to allow further publicity on that front.

Of course a handful of other newcomers will be required in the next few weeks to bolster a squad which currently contains Grant Adam, Matty Aitken, Jamie Bain, David Cox, Michael Kennedy, Jim Lister, Eddie Malone, Andy Munro, Gavin Swankie, Marc Scott and Michael Travis.

The club have also decided to continue to participate in the SPFL Development League set up in the season ahead.