Highland League digest: Another Brodie checks in at Lossiemouth; Deveronvale boss on his new recruits

Lossiemouth co-manager Kevin Flett believes the chance to be a leader on the pitch will bring out the best in new signing Brodie Allen.

Co-bosses Flett and Martin Charlesworth have brought the 28-year-old striker back to Grant Park after three-and-a-half years with Huntly.

Flett believes the Coasters offer the perfect platform for the returning attacker to establish himself.

He said: “Brodie is no stranger to Lossie and it’s good to get him back.

“This move is a chance for Brodie to come back and be a key part of a squad. I think he’s maybe just been in and out of the Huntly team too much for his liking.

“He has maybe lacked that bit of consistency there but there is a sense of real hunger for him to come in and be a key player in our plans. I think that responsibility will help him.

“He’s coming back at a great age and he comes back a very polished player.

“Brodie will have learned a lot and his goal return hasn’t been too bad if you look at the number of starts he’s actually had.

“If we can get him on a consistent run of games where he’s maybe starting a bit more, I think it’ll help him.”

Lossie bosses aiming to build local identity

Allen becomes the third new face at Lossiemouth since the season ended, joining Brodie Mitchell and Baylee Campbell in moving to Grant Park.

Flett believes Allen not only fits with what they are looking for in a striker, but also in what is needed to help build a strong rapport among the squad off the pitch too.

He said: “The obvious one for us is he’s another local lad and that’s what we’re trying to build at Lossie.

“Getting that togetherness within the squad is important and we’re trying to get a good squad of local boys who can all train together twice a week.

“Brodie is a player Martin and I obviously know well. We’ve both played with him and we know him personally away from the game.

“He certainly fits for us as well as we’re needing that forward area of the pitch to be a bit more aggressive.

“Brodie is a big lad but he’s more than that. He’s a really intelligent player who we feel will be a really good fit for us.”

Deveronale boss delighted to add experience to his squad

Deveronvale boss Garry Wood is delighted to add experience to his young squad after signing midfielder Keir Smith.

Smith, 27, was out of contract at Turriff United and has made the short trip from The Haughs to Princess Royal Park.

Wood said: “We’ve got a really good group of young players at the club but we’re probably lacking that little big experience so adding Keir to the squad will certainly give us that.

“He’s played more than 100 games for Turriff and they wanted to keep him so we’re delighted he has chosen us for his next step.

“The average age of our whole squad at the end of the season was 21.

“You hear a lot of other managers talking about young squads, but I don’t think there will be many younger than ours if you look at our squad as a whole.

“We’ve been looking to add a bit more experience to bring that average age up a wee bit and help the young guys out and Keir fits the bill.”

Smith played across the midfield for Turriff and was deployed as a striker during his time at The Haughs.

Wood welcomes his new recruit’s versatility but has a specific role in mind next season.

He said: “It’s obviously handy to have players who are versatile and can play in different positions, but we see Keir in the centre and one that’s going to create chances.

“We looked at our stats from the past season, and our goals and assists came from the same people.

“We’re looking to try and widen that and obviously by bringing in someone like Keir we’re hoping that he adds that dimension.”

Wood makes it a double for the Banffers

Smith is joined in making the move to Banff by central defender Kyle Wood, who has signed from Banks o’ Dee juniors.

Wood knows his namesake well from his time at Spain Park prior to joining Deveronvale and the player-manager believes his 20-year-old addition has all the tools to establish himself in the Highland League.

He said: “We’ve watched Kyle a few times over the season and kept an eye on him.

“I know him from my time at Banks o’ Dee as well. He’s still young, he’s still learning, but he’s got all the attributes that we’re looking for.

“Kyle has shown a good attitude in wanting to step up to the height of the league and test himself at that level so we’re certainly happy to give him that opportunity and hopefully he kicks on.”

[Source: Press and Journal]