Source: FOOTYMAD
Out with the old
There were few surprises when the club revealed the list of players who would be leaving Fir Park as the close season gets underway. There is now plenty of space in the changing room for the new intake. Those looking for other challenges are Jones, Gunning, Ross, Charalambous, Casagolda, Jeffers and Meechan. Also leaving are three of the U19s; Sloan, Griffin and Halsman. The high annual turnover of players has become a feature of club football since the arrival of the Bosman era. Contracts range from six months to a maximum of around three years. In addition, first team squads are often topped up with loan signings. The result is that players rarely stay long enough at the club to build a lasting relationship with the fans and the start of a new season brings with it the introduction of a new batch. It has also been confirmed that Jennings, Craigan and Hollis have been invited to stay and they are considering the club’s offer. This transfer window is the first opportunity that Stuart McCall has had to make the team his own. His arrival at the turn of the year meant that he had little time to shape the squad. It will be interesting to see the fruits of his efforts in the next couple of months. One of the criteria that governed the choice of the manager who was to follow Craig Brown was knowledge of the lower divisions in England. Our man is highly qualified in that respect and we can only hope that his skill at managing a tight budget produces a gem or two before the action gets underway in mid-July. The club has confirmed that our first pre-season friendly will be against Dumbarton in the shadow of the rock on Saturday 9 July.
