Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
‘GREAT ESCAPE’ HEROHASQUIT
Gregordidn’twanttositonbenchandtakewage
Gregor Fotheringham has insisted he left Albion Rovers for the good of the club because he didn’t want to sit on the bench and take a wage.
The 26-year-old parted ways with the Coatbridge outfit on Saturday by mutual consent, following just over two years at Cliftonhill.
Fotheringham – who made nine appearances for the club this season – was a key member of the squad that pulled off the ‘Great Escape’ in the 2018/19 campaign to preserve Rovers’ SPFL status.
The club find themselves in a scrap at the bottom of League Two once again this season and the midfielder reckoned it was time to call it quits amid a host of new players arriving at the club over the last month, including ex-hearts star Ryan Stevenson.
But his exit is a selfless act that he hopes will allow the club to strengthen further.
Fotheringham said: “I’ve not been playing as often as I’d really have liked to and Brian has brought some new players in as well, so I think it’s the best thing for the club if I moved on.
“I made the decision on Saturday and I feel it’s the right thing to do by the club.
”It’s a great community club and they’ve been brilliant to me.
”I didn’t want to sit on the bench and take a wage when I wasn’t going to be playing.
”I’m well aware of the situation the club are in and I’d much rather they got players in who were going to play.
”With me leaving, hopefully that frees up some resources for Brian to go and get the right players in.
“At the start of the season I was in and out of the team, but it’s also about, with the summer coming up, using my days to do what I want to do, so it’s a personal thing as well.
“There’s nothing else in the pipeline, so I want to use this time to get myself fit and play a bit of golf.”
Fotheringham bagged a brace in a 3-0 win over Berwick Rangers in the 2018/19 campaign that proved pivotal in their survival that term.
And he added: “In terms of my best memories, the season when we did the ‘Great Escape’ and managed to stay up, I was enjoying my football then.
“It was really good, so scoring the two goals against Berwick Rangers to keep us up is the highlight. I’m just hoping Rovers can do it again this season.”
Fotheringham’s last game for the club came in a 4-0 defeat away to Stranraer in December.