Transfer News: Edwards Joins Elgin/Semi Final Team News
Midfielder Steven Edwards has left Nairn County to join Elgin City. The former Inverness CT and Ross County youth returns to Borough Briggs after originally leaving the Third Division side to move to Station Park in 2001.
The utility player's transfer is somewhat complex. Having already agreed a pre-contract deal with Ross Jack's side, Edwards has now been allowed to move to the Moray club ahead of schedule - but only on loan.
"He has made it quite clear that he was going to go there next season. He wants to give it another go in the Scottish Third Division and we weren't going to stand in the boy's way if he wanted to step up.
"It was a case of if he was going to be going at the end of the season then he may as well go now."
Fridge was happy to sanction the deal despite pointing out on several occasions over the past few weeks that he was operating with a small squad.
He said: "It would be very difficult for me to involve him unless I really needed to because he would be leaving at the end of the season.
"It means we will bring in a couple of the younger boys from the youth team like we have been doing over the last couple of weeks. We will have the opportunity to have a look at some of the other players in the squad as well."
And County return to Harlaw Park on Saturday when they take on the Locos for a place in the end-of-season showpiece final of the Highland League Cup. It is the third time Fridge has guided Nairn to this stage of the competition having suffered penalty shootout agony at Fraserburgh in season 2005-06 and a 3-1 loss at Buckie Thistle 12 months later.
Ahead of the big game, the manager has major concerns over influential centre forward Lewis MacKinnon, who was substituted in the first half of the defeat to Fraserburgh.
Fridge stated: "Lewis is struggling with the knock he took on Saturday. He will be given until the 11th hour to make the game but he will probably need a fitness test on Saturday. Scott Nicholl and John Campbell are very doubtful as well because of work commitments and we will just have to monitor that situation the rest of this week. But Scott Graham is definitely unavailable because of his new job on the fishing boats."