In the Frame: Quartet wooed by United boss
Thorniewood add Vics veterans to young signings
Andy Frame has added two title-winning campaigners and a couple of promising youngsters to bolster his Thorniewood United squad for his third season in charge.
The Hamilton-based businessman ventured across the M74 to Blantyre’s Castle Park to persuade Vics’ captain Terry Hewitt and attacking leftback Andy Sinclair to switch to Robertson Park.
The manager added: “We have also signed a couple of young lads in goalkeeper Ryan Tweedlie from Motherwell United and Darren Bowie from Stein’s Thistle.
“I am delighted to have signed these four so far – last season there were a lot of good young boys and I’m pleased to say the majority of them have re-signed.
“I thought it would be a boost for the youngsters to bring in some guys with good junior experience.
“Terry and Andy both had a good spell with Vics, so we hope they can bring that sort of experience into our ranks.
“With the other lads this will help keep the ethos of the youth set-up at the club, which has served us reasonably well.
“We have set up an under-21 side that may allow us to reduce the number of players in our squad, while providing a clear pathway for our under-21s to progress.”
Frame added: “Since John Paul Mcbride and I teamed up, we’ve tried to improve things on and off the park – winning the Euroscot Engineering Central League Cup in our first year exceeded our expectations, but as long as we see improvement on the park – that’s what it’s all about.”
Those who have re-signed are Chris Lennon, Davie Hamilton, Liam Anderson, Anthony Higgins, Billy Robb, Kiernan Mcintyre, Brendan Smith, Alan Brown, Craig Forbes, Andy Crielly, Stefan Law, Mark Mcshane and Declan Lafferty.
Terry Hewitt, who had spent almost four seasons at Vics, said: “I thought maybe it was time for a change. After Andy and JP came up to my house to talk about a move, I felt I would like to come along here and see how it goes.”
Club chairman John Millar said: “We have had our ups and downs – it’s a young team, but we hope Terry and Andy – both excellent, experienced players – will help bring on the young guys a wee bit.”