Convicted drug dealer is on trial with EKFC
Midfielder has served time Motorseized
A convicted cocaine dealer is training with East Kilbride Football Club.
Former Partick Thistle and Ross County player Adam Strachan was jailed in April last year after pleading guilty to supplying the class A drug.
Strachan signed for Junior side Irvine Meadow in February this year following his release from prison but is currently without a club.
Now East Kilbride boss Martin Lauchlan, who knows Strachan from his days at Partick, has offered the 29-yearold use of the Lowland League side’s training facilities at K-Park for a month in a bid to help him rebuild his career.
However, the cocaine charge is just the latest in a series of convictions for Strachan.
The shamed midfielder, from Glasgow, was sentenced to 240 hours of community service in 2013 after he was caught by cops with £2000 worth of heroin hidden in his underpants.
In December 2012 Strachan, who also had spells in Junior football with Clydebank and Glenafton, was jailed for 12 months after admitting carrying knives.
Three years earlier he was handed 80 hours of community service for assaulting his girlfriend at the time.
Despite his chequered past, Lauchlan has defended the decision to invite Strachan to training and insists everyone deserves a chance at redemption.
Lauchlan said: “It’s purely down to his football ability.
“He’s only training at the minute, there’s no commitment from either party.
“The problem with Adam has been when he’s away from the park. There’s never a problem when he’s on the park, so from that point of view he’s a very good professional.
“We are a community club and we give people second chances. I think everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves.
“I’m not one to judge. He’s served his sentence and we move on from there.
“He’s good when he’s in and around the training ground and he trains perfectly.
“At this moment in time he’s got training facilities to get himself fit and I’ve not got a problem with that.”
Strachan has over 200 career appearances to his name since making his senior debut for Partick at the age of 16.
He has appeared twice as a trialist for East Kilbride in the past week, playing 45 minutes of their 2-1 defeat to a Dundee XI last week and during Saturday’s 5-0 win over Tynecastle.
And Lauchlan added: “He loves football and I think that’s what keeps him going.
“I’m only a football manager looking for a player to fill a position and nobody has ever questioned his ability - you just have to look at the clubs he’s played for.
“I want to check that he’s fit enough and that he’s up for the challenge.
“He’s been great so far, but there’s no guarantee we are going to sign him.
“We’ll have a chat after a couple of weeks or so and go from there.”
In February 2013, three months after he was locked up for carrying knives, Strachan was released from prison, given an electronic tag and placed under a night-time curfew. He was pictured playing for Meadow with the tag on his ankle. A Hairmyres man accused of drink driving has had his car seized by the court.
Stuart Clark (44), of 60 Strathspey Avenue, denied being more than five times the legal limit on St James Avenue on July 20.
It is claimed he had 122 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of his breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
Trial was set for August 25 at Hamilton Sheriff Court with an interim diet on August 15.
Clark was allowed bail on Thursday and a Crown motion for the forfeiture of his vehicle was granted.