Thomson happy to leave Hoops behind

New Dunfermline signing Joe Thomson was happy to be told his time was up at Celtic – because he craved more firstteam football.

The 21-year-old has joined Dunfermline on a two-year deal after his nine-year association with the Hoops came to an end this summer.

The midfielder, who has had loan spells with Dumbarton, Livingston and Queen of the South, knew that the time was right to make a clean break from the Scottish champions.

He said: “That was my contract up at Celtic and I had known for a couple of months.

“I didn’t get told until late in the season that that was going to be me at Celtic, but I’m looking forward to the season ahead with Dunfermline now.

“I’d be lying if I said I was disappointed to be leaving Celtic, because I wasn’t.

“I didn’t want to go back and be playing youth team football, I wanted to challenge myself.

“So, it was the right time for me to leave and it was what I wanted.”

He added: “I’m looking forward to the season. The aim has definitely got to be challenging for promotion.

“Dunfermline are a massive club and we would be lying if we said we would not be trying to get promoted.

“I think there’s going to be five or six teams thinking they can win promotion, so it’s going to be a good challenge.”

Joe Thomson is looking forward to a fresh start.