Pre-Season Round-Up: Nairn To Take On Dons In Friendly
The Nairn County players will return to training within a matter of weeks as they begin their preparations for the 2008-09 Highland League season. the squad are expected to go through a rigourous couple of weeks on the training ground under the auspices of manager Les Fridge and his assistant Mike Hendry before embarking on a string of friendly matches as the build-up to the season curtainraiser against Inverurie Locos at Station Park on August 2 intensifies. And two of the opponents the club have lined for are Second Division champions Ross County on Tuesday July 8 in a rematch of
At the end of season Highland League awards dinner, defender Martin MacDonald scooped the Nairn County clubman of the year award. The former Brora man was nominated along with team mates Wayne Mackintosh and Brian Macleod but all three missed out to Cove Rangers' Paul Coutts who was crowned Highland League Player of the Year while is boss John Sheran collected the managers' gong.
Boss Les Fridge is yet to dip into the transfer market this summer, but is believed to have several potential moves afoot when he returns from holiday for the new season. And forwards Iain Brooks and Jason Robertson have both returned to the club after going out on loan in January but whether they will be farmed out again next season has yet to be resolved. Also returning from loan spells
Exiled forward Scott Kellacher remains a player who is signed to the club although his contract is believed to expire at the end of pre-season. And Forres Mechanics have made public their interest in the former Celtic youngster, who last kicked a ball for the club towards the end of 2006. The Mosset Park side's manager Gordon Winton said: "I have been chasing Scott for quite a while now and have enquired about him three times in the last year-and-a-half. He has a couple of offers in place but he won't be free from his current contract until after pre-season. He is still a Nairn player at the moment."
Clach are also said to be interested in the one-time Highland League Young Player of the Year.
One player definitely on the way out is consistant defender Martin Sanderson. Manager Les Fridge announced after the win over Inverurie Locos that the former Clach man would be moving on for work-related reasons after commuting from his Aberdeen base to play for the club throughout last season.