Forfar Athletic boss Gary Irvine has discussed the difficult decision in allowing captain Ross Meechan to leave the club.
The 27-year-old joined West of Scotland side Darvel earlier this week, with the Loons pocketing a five-figure fee as part of the deal.
Irvine admits it was tough letting his trusted teammate and skipper depart.
Meechan changed job outside of football and his new hours, coupled with travelling across Scotland for training, were starting to take its toll.
Meechan departure ‘hard’
The Forfar gaffer was left with little option in allowing Meechan to join a club closer to home and is now focusing his efforts into finding a replacement
“Ross leaving was a sore one for us,” Irvine explained to Courier Sport. “It was hard for myself and Ross.
“He was very close to me, he was my captain.
“When it came to the decision with his work being too much for him and restricting him a bit in preparations towards games.
“We just had to come to that decision. It’s important now to get a good player in now to replace Ross.”
“I’ve been working hard on trying to get a player in at the full-back position – on both sides.
“With our loan players going back from last year, Tomas (Brindley) and Luke (Strachan) going on the left side as well, full-back is the priority for us.”
What to expect from new signings
Forfar supporters will have welcomed the news of two new faces to the side in Nathan Flanagan and Ben Armour.
Both attacking players put pen to paper on one-year deals.
Irvine revealed both players are familiar to him and assistant Gary Harkins and gave an insight into what they can bring to the team.
“Ben being a striker ticks a lot of boxes: he’s strong and can hold up the ball and he has a bit of pace about him,” he said.
“Gary Harkins has actually worked with him before at Morton.
“It was important for us that we knew what kind of character he was.
“Everything I’m trying to do is about getting the right people in to compliment the group.
“They are good lads and they want to work hard and Ben is that.
“Equally, I’d say the same about Nathan. He has got a great attitude.
“He’s someone that I’ve worked with at St Mirren. He was a young boy coming through when I was a player there.
“I’ve worked with him as a teammate and played against him as an opponent. He has got a real creative flair to him – but I’m going to challenge him to get a few goals under his belt.”
Darvel swoop for Forfar Athletic captain Ross Meechan in five-figure deal
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