By Craig Smith

EAST FIFE have pulled off a major signing coup by capturing former Scotland internationalist Stevie Crawford on a two-year deal.

Manager Dave Baikie and club directors have repeatedly said they would only strengthen their already burgeoning squad should someone “exceptional” become available, and they believe Crawford (34) fits the bill perfectly.

The striker had courted interest from SPL clubs including Inverness Caledonian Thistle after leaving Dunfermline, but has opted to stay closer to home for personal reasons.

Baikie said, “We’d heard that there was a possibility he was available but Stevie had a couple of genuine offers from SPL clubs so it’s been kind of an on-going thing.

“He had to weigh things up but, with his family and his personal life here, he wanted to stay in Fife.

“It’s a great signing for East Fife and it shows our intent— we’re an ambitious club and it’s great to have Stevie on board.”

Crawford made his name with Raith Rovers in 1992 and has had spells with Hibernian, Dundee United and Aberdeen, as well as stints down south with Millwall and Plymouth Argyle.

The forward has also played for Scotland on numerous occasions, scoring four times for his country over the years.

The initial rumour around Bayview was that Crawford had agreed to some sort of player-coach role, but Baikie yesterday confirmed he has joined solely as a striker, adding to an already lengthy list of forward players at the Methil club.

“We’ve obviously got quite a lot of strikers and the squad is getting quite big but we knew that was going to be the case,” Baikie added.

“It’s now up to everybody to stake a claim for their place in the squad.

“We’re sitting with a squad of 25 at the moment but I’m eventually looking to trim that to 21 or 22.”

Crawford played in last night’s friendly against Forfar (see report on Page 18), while home fans are likely to get their first look at their new signing against Hamilton Accies at Bayview tomorrow evening.