Elgin City have forced Peterhead to stand by the gentlemens agreement which prevents attacker Shane Sutherland featuring against his former club at Borough Briggs tomorrow.
Blue Toon boss Jim McInally had been hopeful of persuading City to allow Sutherland, who made the switch to Balmoor in January, to feature in this weekend’s match, with Peterhead chasing the title and Elgin out of contention for the play-offs.
City boss Gavin Price has stood his ground but insists McInally was understanding of his position.
Price said: “From my perspective, we sold Shane on the understanding he would not feature in these two games and I think we have got to stand by that.
“To say we have not got anything to play for is wrong. We want to finish with as many points as we can, and as high up the league as we can.
“As a manager I’ve got to make sure we give ourselves the best chance of doing that. I’m not saying Shane would make the difference, as we’ve not got a great record against Peterhead as it is.
“I don’t think I would be doing a service to the Elgin City supporters if I was to go back on that. We have done a deal which at the time was in the best interests of Shane and the club.
“Part of that deal was that Shane would not feature against us this season, for a number of reasons and not just from a footballing sense.
“From an emotional sense, with the club’s supporters, it was important.
“Jim is an honourable guy and he has accepted that. I’m pretty sure Shane would want to play in the game but I’ve just got to look after Elgin City. That’s the only part of my decision-making process.”
Price confirmed Jordan Lowdon will join League 2 rivals Stirling Albion at the end of the season, however the Elgin boss is hopeful of persuading fellow defender Stephen Bronsky to remain, with contract offers also in place for on-loan trio Greg Morrison, Ross MacIver and Kyle Gourlay who will be released by their parent clubs.
