Simon Allan is proud of the service he gave to Forres Mechanics after ending his 15-year stint at Mosset Park.
The 36-year-old started working offshore earlier this year and as a result felt he was no longer able to commit to the Can-Cans.
But Allan does hope to continue playing when onshore and has signed for Junior side Forres Thistle.
During his time with the Mechanics, the defender won the Highland League in 2012 and the Highland League Cup and North of Scotland Cup in 2012, as well as being granted a testimonial season during the 2016-17 campaign.
Allan said: “Before I signed for Mechanics, I played for Thistle. That was 15 years ago so it’s kind of gone full circle.
“I had 15 great years with the Mechanics, but every good thing must come to end.
“I look back with a lot of pride at playing for my local team.
“Winning the league was the biggest highlight and playing Rangers in the Scottish Cup (in 2012) is a close second.
“Winning the Highland League Cup and North of Scotland Cup was also great. I couldn’t really ask for much more.
“Maybe we should have won a bit more, because we had a good squad, but Charlie Rowley did a fantastic job in his time.
“Forres are going through a bit of a transition at the moment with a few of the older guys stopping and Charlie leaving as well.
“It’s time for Gordon Connelly to rebuild and hopefully in time he can push Forres back up to where they should be.
“If I’m not playing for Thistle on a Saturday, I’ll be watching the Mechanics.”
Change of job
Having been made redundant during the pandemic, Allan started working in home removals, which led to him being away during the week.
A few months ago he started working offshore, which now means he’s away for weeks at a time.
He added: “It’s three weeks on and three weeks off and I’m at that age where I probably wouldn’t be playing for Forres every week.
“I can’t justify trying to train and play when I’m home and then go away again.
“I’d rather a young lad got the chance to play every week, instead of me coming back and playing a couple of games before going away again.
“I’ve always tried to put the club before myself and I’d rather see somebody else playing all the time than me trying to play when I can’t all the time.”
No Mosset Park farewell
Allan hasn’t played a competitive game for Forres since the start of the pandemic.
The Can-Cans pulled out of the abridged 2020-21 season and this term his work commitments have meant he was unable to take to the pitch and get a send off from the Mosset Park faithful.
Allan said: “I was there before Covid, but since then I haven’t had the chance to go back and play. I’ve been working away a lot.
“I would have liked to have played one last game at Mosset Park and then said goodbye. But that’s the way some things go and that won’t be my lasting memory of Forres.
“I’ve been down to the ground and seen some of the supporters and people at the club, and they’ve said: ‘thanks for everything’, so it’s nice to be appreciated.”
