Two more ‘Loons’ sign contract extensions

Although the heart breaking end to the 2021/2 season is still fresh in the minds of all connected with the ‘Loons’ the management team and the board have moved on and are now fully focussed on the new competitive campaign which gets underway on the second weekend in July with Betfred Cup sectional matches.

To that end senior club officials met with Gary earlier in the week to finalise budgets and other arrangements.

Gary is also delighted to confirm that two more of the current squad Darren Whyte and Callum Moore have agreed to extend their stay at Station Park.

This news will without doubt delight the loyal Athies support base.

Both players have agreed terms and in Darren’s case he has put pen to paper on a two year extension, while Callum has committed himself to the club till the end of next season.

Twenty five year old Darren completed his 100^th appearance for the club recently despite having had a couple of lengthy spells on the sidelines since first arriving at Station Park in the autumn of 2017, originally on loan from St.Mirren.

The classy central defender had been with Rangers as a schoolboy before signing for the Paisley outfit in 2014.

Saints however did not offer Darren a new deal in the summer of 2018 and Forfar Athletic moved quickly to secure his signature on a permanent basis and now he will begin what will be his sixth season at Station Park in July.

Callum Moore also arrived in the first instance at Station Park on a temporary transfer in March of last year from neighbours Dundee.

The Arbroath based midfield player turned down the offer a new deal at Dens Park last summer and took a total break from the game before returning to training at Station Park in November, signing on the dotted line the following month.

This now means that twelve of the current squad are tied to the club already for the new campaign, giving the management team an excellent base to work for as they look forward to the 2022/3 season.

Discussions on their future will take place over the next week or so with others members of the current squad, although veteran defender Steven Anderson has confirmed that he has decided to accept an offer from Lowland League side Berwick Rangers.

Gary is also in talks as will be the case with all clubs with a few targeted and potential new faces to boost the squad numbers and quality.

The players currently contracted to the club for the season ahead and in a couple of cases beyond are;- Matthew Aitken, PJ Crossan, Yusuf Hussain, Kyle Hutton, Marc McCallum, Stefan McCluskey, Ross Meechan, Callum Moore, Andy Munro, Craig Slater, Craig Thomson and Darren Whyte.

Training will re-commence in mid June with all the players having the luxury of a pristine playing surface at Station Park to look forward to by the time pre-season friendlies arrive on the scene, as installation work begins on Monday of next week on that project.