Buckie Thistle manager Lewis Mackinnon answers Victoria Park fans’ criticism over departure of stars Joe McCabe, Sam Pugh and Jack MacIver and outlines plans for new signings
Buckie Thistle may be losing several of their Highland League title-winning stars, but their manager is confident of finding strong replacements.
Jags announced this week that defender Joe McCabe has signed a pre-contract to join Banks o’ Dee, with Sam Pugh also set to move after failing to agree a new Buckie deal.
In addition, Jack MacIver has joined Elgin City on loan with a view to making the deal permanent in the summer.
Manager Lewis Mackinnon had to deal with the departure of star duo Jack Murray and Max Barry to SPFL clubs soon after taking over the reins from title-winning predecessor Graeme Stewart.
He spoke earlier this season about geographical difficulties in attracting replacement players, saying he had had ‘at least 15 knockbacks’.
Mackinnon spoke through a club statement this week addressing supporters’ concerns over the loss of key players, saying he is confident of bringing in a number of fresh faces to bolster his squad.
The Victoria Park boss is pleased to bring in ex-Ross County midfielder Ryan MacLeman on loan from Elgin as part of the MacIver deal, and says a second player from Borough Briggs may also be farmed out in the near future.
“In relation to the recent transfer activity at the club, I would like to stress that the board along with the football management team are working tirelessly to strengthen now and ahead of next season,” he said.
“The coaching staff and I know exactly where we need to strengthen and have identified many potential targets which I am confident we will turn into new signings.”
Talking about the imminent departure of McCabe and Pugh, two key men in last season’s championship triumph, the manager said: “Both players have rebuffed several improved contract offers, dating back to Spider’s (previous boss Stewart) reign and the period I have now been manager.
“Both lads have been very upfront and honest with me, keeping me up to speed on their situations and I respect them for that. As a club we could have potentially cashed in last summer as we had many offers for both players, but we wanted to keep the players, potentially convincing them to sign new deals and keep us competitive this season.
“Unfortunately, results have fallen short in that respect.”
Buckie’s title defence has not gone according to plan, as they currently sit ninth in the table and have lost as many league games as they have won (10).
They have also been knocked out of all cup competitions, a scenario which led to the club agreeing to MacIver being farmed out to Elgin for the rest of the season.
“With Jack MacIver, we rejected approaches for him last summer and he has knuckled down and performed very well for us this season,” Mackinnon added.
“With us exiting the League Cup and being out of the running in the league, Jack and his agent expressed their desire for him to move on now with interest from Elgin City.
“He is approaching the final year of his contract and that along with the opportunity for Jack to step up into the SPFL with Elgin City, meant it was the right time to look at granting Jack his chance. It is initially a loan until end of season with a view to doing business with Elgin City on this come the summer.”
On gaining the services of MacLeman from Elgin, the Buckie boss said: “Ryan coming in on loan was part of the agreement and it is an opportunity for Ryan to get first team football, Elgin to have their player gaining experience and fitness and he strengthens our squad for the remaining games of the season.
“Ryan is held in very high regard at Elgin, and I am looking forward to seeing him in the green and white.
“We also hope to conclude the loan of another player from Elgin City in the coming days, also part of the talks between Allan Hale and myself over the past few days.
“We have a very good core of a squad here and although we are again facing up to losing key players, we are much better placed this season to replace them than we were last season and are working on this already with the aim to have new faces on the training field for pre-season training, if not before.
“We are now targeting improved performances, results and a strong end to the season whilst also looking ahead to next season.
“Of course, this will involve bleeding players into the team that have maybe had restricted game time whilst of course phasing out the players that are moving on.
“This will not be at a detriment to results which we will be going all out to win our remaining matches this season regardless.”
