We are delighted to confirm that three young players have signed contracts to take part in our development programme.

Nineteen-year-old Euan Ross, 18-year-old Harry McLinden and 17-year-old Mark Thompson have all penned two-year deals as they look to progress their careers.

Midfielder Euan was injured for much of last season but has shown real promise, coming back to the club in pre-season having clearly worked hard to return in great physical condition, Euan has fantastic technical ability, and we look forward to seeing him progress having seen snippets over pre-season.

Forward Harry has come through the club at different age groups and has scored goals at every level, last season despite missing a third of the season with a broken leg, amassing 23 goals across the reserves, south of Scotland while on loan and the u18s. The most memorable being a lob from around 35 yards in the youth cup game against Airdrie.

While Mark has potential and we believe he can develop into a fine goalkeeper, we have a development plan for Mark over the coming years. He spent time with the first team most of last season and has again done well this pre-season.

Manager, Peter Murphy said “Young players are important to clubs like ours so to be able to offer these three players, two-year development deals is terrific. Players like Lewis Gibson, Jay Burns and Ben Johnstone were involved in similar ventures, so the club have a history of helping youngsters. This gives Euan, Mark, and Harry the same opportunity. All three have done really well in pre-season and we look forward to seeing how they develop going forward”.

As always, we would like to thank the Barflies and the Tanner Fund for their contributions with our youth development. With the latter ending we are excited for a new initiative which is coming very shortly, so keep your eyes peeled.