East Fife have agreed terms with former Scotland midfielder Stephen Hughes.
Hughes has been training with the Fifers in recent days and played a part in a reserve game earlier this week as he seeks to maintain his fitness following his release by Aberdeen in the summer.
And after being offered a short-term contract by chairman Lee Murray, the 30-year-old ex-Rangers and Motherwell man was expected to put pen to paper on a deal at Bayview last night.
Club director of football Brian McNeill is delighted to see Hughes follow in the footsteps of former Dons team-mate Gary Naysmith in committing himself to the Fifers.
“It’s great to have him on board here and we would love to have him playing on Saturday, so we were hopeful he would accept the deal,” he said.
Hughes should be available for tomorrow’s home game against Ayr, pending the usual clearance from the football authorities.
Meanwhile, McNeill confirmed that former Hearts striker Christian Nade is still at the club and is continuing his rehabilitation from knee surgery.
There were rumours that the 29-year-old, who left Thai football for a switch back to Scotland, might renege on an agreement to play for the Fifers but those have been dismissed by the Methil outfit.
“He’s a big lad so we can’t take chances, he’s about 16 stone, but he’s very physically fit and only had 9% body fat, which is incredible,” said McNeill.
Keeper Michael Andrews is available for this weekend’s game against Ayr following the birth of his child, although Ross Brown could be a doubt after picking up a knock.