Barry on Squad Moves

Barry Ferguson spoke to the official website today, following a busy few days which saw various developments in the first team squad.

In addition to Jordan McMillan agreeing to stay on until the end of the season, Scott Lochhead joined the club for the same period, on loan from Dunfermline Athletic. Barry said:-

“Scott is an attacking midfielder who will add some depth to our squad, especially given the injuries and players coming back from injury that we have. We know a bit about him, he works hard and is a pacey player who is on the fringes of the first team at Dunfermline.

“I’ve got to thank Allan Johnston for allowing us to take Scott at no cost and hopefully it will work out well for all concerned.”

One man who has left the club is Jamie Watson, with the 21-year-old forward’s contract being cancelled by mutual consent before last night’s transfer deadline. Barry continued:-

“It was the right time for Jamie to move on and have a think about what he wants to do next. I never had any problems with him but for the sake of his career, he needs to go somewhere and play regularly. It was the best decision for both parties and we wish him well in the future.”

Another player moving out from Broadwood is Michael Oliver, who has returned to East Stirlingshire for a second loan spell and the Clyde manager explained the reason for his short turnaround:-

“We were short of numbers a few weeks ago, or we would have allowed Michael to stay on at East Stirling. I’m not the type to keep someone sitting on the bench and he can continue to get regular games on loan, which is important for him at the moment.”

In terms of the goalkeeping situation, Barry explained that Brett Long had returned to Dundee United – after making one appearance against Stirling Albion – and that he was looking to bring in another ‘keeper on a short-term basis, ahead of John Gibson’s likely suspension for the Scottish Cup Fifth Round match at Ayr next week:-

“We couldn’t extend Brett’s short-term deal for financial reasons, or I would have been happy to keep him on. He’s a good technical ‘keeper and a really good boy, who trained well with us.

“We will probably need to do something ahead of the cup game though and I have already started that process.”