Among all the excitement emanating out of Stark’s Park at the moment, there was a tinge of disappointment at the release of Jamie MacDonald.
The veteran goalkeeper made 41 appearances for Raith Rovers last season, as well as passing 500 career appearances, hitting a similar number as his two previous campaigns in goals for the club.
A return of 42 clean sheets – around one in three – isn’t bad at all and MacDonald regularly drew praise last season from Raith boss Ian Murray for being one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship.
This week Courier Sport exclusively revealed that MacDonald rejected an offer to stay on for another year on reduced wages.
Next move
As he weighs up his next move, MacDonald is focused on becoming the No 1 elsewhere.
He sees a dual coaching role as unlikely though has dipped his toes recently, helping out Alan Maybury’s Edinburgh on Tuesday and Thursday nights last season.
“First and foremost, I still want to play, I still have that hunger to play,” MacDonald tells Courier Sport.
“If you are going into that player-coach role, I think it’s a little bit more difficult in terms of being a No 1.
“For the coaching, you almost need to take a step back from the playing side and then be ready when needed.
“I’d rather do it properly. Maybe if I start slowing down.”
Personal highlight
With four kids, MacDonald says location will be a big factor in his next move and is in no rush to make it – and, after his performances for Raith, it is no surprise he is in demand.
The shot-stopper went on to win the Challenge Cup in 2022 with Rovers after signing under then-manager John McGlynn.
While this is undoubtedly a highlight, MacDonald also picks out the 3-2 victory over Hearts the previous season – for the circumstances in the build-up and for his own performance.
Players affected by a Covid outbreak hit double-figures and the team had minimal time to prepare.
“Around 14 of us were literally laid out with Covid leading up to the game,” says MacDonald.
“We all had that 10-day isolation period. We trained the Friday before and played the game the Saturday – we were hoping the game was actually going to be postponed because nobody had trained for two weeks.
“We literally trained for 45 minutes on the Friday, went to Tynecastle on the Saturday and produced an unbelievable result.
“For myself, I made a few decent saves in the game and that was arguably one of my best individual performances.”
500 club
The club presented the 37-year-old with a gift when he made his 500th career appearance earlier in the year.
MacDonald says it marked a target set when he was starting out – but is hopeful there are more to come.
Did you know that Jamie MacDonald is approaching 500 games as a professional with over 100 appearances for the Rovers?
Top keeper 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/l808cNwstB
— RaithTV (@RaithTV) January 16, 2023
“When I first started out playing, you always set little goals,” he adds. “I had it in the back of my mind that if I could ever get to that 500 mark, I’d know I’d have had a career in football.
“To get there is a massive milestone and one I’ll – when I do hang up the gloves – look back on fondly. Hopefully, I’ve got a few more to go.”
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