Grady McGrath has revealed he set his sights on smashing a 63-year-old league goal record within days of signing for Brechin City.
McGrath overtook the record set by Ronnie McIntosh in 1960 after netting his 27th Highland League strike of the season in the 4-0 win over Turriff United on Saturday.
And while news of his record-breaking feat surprised many at the club, McGrath has had it on his mind for several months.
The ex-Dundee United and Dundee kid grabbed 74 goals in all competitions for junior side East Craigie last term.
🔥 𝙍 𝙀 𝘾 𝙊 𝙍 𝘿 ▪️ 𝘽 𝙍 𝙀 𝘼 𝙆 𝙀 𝙍
Congratulations to @mcgrath_grady who, after scoring a brace yesterday afternoon, moved onto 27 league goals for the season. This surpasses the club record of 26 which was held by Ronnie McIntosh in the 1959/60 season. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ix8oIiJcyB
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) April 2, 2023
And he delved into the City history books to set a goal target as soon as he made the switch to Glebe Park.
“I don’t know how many people at Brechin realised I’d broken the record but I did,” said McGrath, who faces Brora on Wednesday.
“I was thinking about it before the game because I knew I was very close.
“As soon as I joined Brechin I looked into their stats.
“I was keen to find a goal target to aim for and was curious about their records.
“I set myself a target to get more than 26 in the league and told my dad about it.
“It may seem ambitious but I’m always confident I can score goals.
“I scored 74 in all competitions last year and it’s my job to put the ball in the net.
“A lot of people think it’s luck because a lot of my goals are from close range.
🎥 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 | 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝟰-𝟬 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙 𝗨𝗧𝗗
All the best bits from our 4-0 victory over @TurriffUnitedFC at the weekend are now available to view on Hedge TV.
➡️ https://t.co/IrRYP4DGp4 pic.twitter.com/KgL36AY6Jk
— Brechin City FC (@BrechinCityFC) April 3, 2023
“But it’s about getting into the right positions and having the composure to finish.
“If it was easy then everyone would score a lot of goals.
“My parents were there for the goal and they knew about it but I don’t even think some of my team-mates were aware until Brechin tweeted about it.”
Grady McGrath bounced back from Dundee axe
McGrath, who turns 21 on Thursday, was released by Dundee in 2021 and spent a year at East Craigie before joining Brechin.
And he admits the moves have helped him get his career back on track.
“I was 18 when Dundee told me they were releasing me,” said McGrath.
“I had a bit of time to come to terms with it but I was determined from the start I wouldn’t let it finish me.
“I’ve got pals who have suffered setbacks like that and have lost the hunger to get back up.
“But I believe in myself. You can’t allow one or two people’s opinions about you as a player define you.
“East Craigie were brilliant with me. They gave me a platform to play against men every week.
“When Brechin came in for me I felt it was the right option.
“Our gaffer Andy Kirk has played internationally.
“He can add a lot to my game and we have a former Scotland boss in Craig Levein to inspire us.”
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