Brechin City boss Gavin Price said it was third time lucky when it came to landing Cove Rangers defender Luke Strachan on loan.
Cove manager Paul Hartley’s has opted to give the 22-year-old left-back the chance to build up game-time after coming through an ankle operation.
Strachan, who spent time on loan at Brechin in 2020 when he was at Dundee, signed for League One Cove last summer, but suffered an ankle injury and is now close to a full recovery.
He just needs games and minutes and Price, who is a big admirer, explained he tried to bring the player to Elgin City when he was the gaffer in Moray.
Strachan made his debut in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory at 13th-placed Lossiemouth as first half goals from Ewan Loudon, Danny Handling and Marc Scott kept Brechin one point in front of Banks o’ Dee.
The match also allowed on-loan Dundee forward Jamie Richardson to make his first start for the Angus club.
Cove player gets chance at Brechin
Price feels both players add real quality to his ever-increasingly strong squad as the Angus club target back-to-back HFL titles.
He said: “Luke is a player I see a lot of when he was at Dundee.
“I tried to get him to Elgin on loan a couple of times, but just missed out.
“He’s come here to get game-time and he’s a player I rate very highly.
“I thought, for his first game in six months, he played very well.
✍️ 𝙇𝙐𝙆𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉 𝙎𝙄𝙂𝙉𝙎 𝙊𝙉 𝙇𝙊𝘼𝙉
Brechin City FC is pleased to confirm the loan signing of Luke Strachan on loan from League 1 outfit @CoveRangersFC until the end of the season.
Full story ➡️ https://t.co/BBSPJ2lyhV pic.twitter.com/zDlIHCeNN8
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) January 23, 2024
“Jamie Richardson, who is on loan from Dundee, came on against Rothes recently, but he got his first start against Lossiemouth.
“He took a knock in the first half, but he’s a real livewire, who works really hard, so he’s another good addition.
“We’ve brought players in who have added real competition to the squad. We’ve got a strong bench and that’s what we’re striving for.
“We have a heavy schedule over the next 13 weeks. It’s, therefore, important we have that competition and depth to our squad.”
Highland League: Victories for Brechin City and Banks o’ Dee; Rothes and Formartine share the spoils
Price hails City’s steady improvement
Price, whose team have won four successive matches, was satisfied with the manner of the win at Lossie, especially in the opening half where they put the game to bed.
He said: “There has been a steady improvement over the past three or four weeks, with players coming in.
“You could see on the pitch on Wednesday a lot of what we’ve been working on, so that was pleasing.
“We had a better shape to us, especially in the first half where we moved the ball well, created a lot of chances and had players in the right areas to score goals.
“We created chance in the second half, but we were not quite as ruthless as we were in the first half.”
Keen to keep run going at Strathspey
This Saturday, basement side Strathspey Thistle are Brechin’s hosts before they begin next month with a home clash with Lossie once more next weekend.
The Grantown Jags’ game against Brora was beaten by the weather and storm damage at the weekend, which was the third successive match postponed at Seafield Park.
Strathspey, who have not played since mid-December, are also desperate to get back to action in a bid to cut into the seven-point gap between themselves and Keith.
There will be a precautionary pitch inspection at 8am.
Price is eager for Brechin to build upon their midweek victory, adding: “We want to keep the momentum going and have the games coming thick and fast.
“We’ll certainly be hoping Saturday’s game goes ahead at Strathspey.”
Please note there will be a precautionary pitch inspection at 8am tomorrow ahead of our Highland League fixture against @JagsStfc
We will advise supporters as soon as we are made aware of the outcome. pic.twitter.com/3rIslMpg5c
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) January 26, 2024