PRANK CALL PUT FIFERS IN THE MOOD
CHRIS HIGGINS fooled team-mate Danny Denholm in lockdown but reckons more of his fellow pros have seen the light as a result.
If the East Fife defender’s number wasn’t saved in contact books of SPFL players across the country already, then it will be now given his day-to-day role as personal development officer at PFA Scotland.
Although he didn’t miss his chance to pretend his digits were different when the Bayview players took it upon themselves to ring round long-suffering fans.
Unbeknown to Denholm, a columnist for MailSport, the Mr John Anderson on his call sheet was in fact Higgy who recorded the chat for posterity.
He said: “It was good to just lighten the mood during such a difficult period. It was good contacting the fans, especially the more senior supporters, just to show a wee bit of support and do a bit for the club.
“But there was a wee opportunity to stitch up Danny because he’s not shy in slagging boys in his columns! It was good he got his comeuppance. It was all good fun.” It offered a lighter note during an uncertain spell that has still not run its course despite the return of competitive football.
While Higgins used the downtime to learn Spanish, his phone was going off the hook with players learning just how precarious life in the Scottish leagues can be.
He said: “I spoke to a lot of players throughout lockdown in terms of what they were looking to do, from the top flight to League Two.
“Players who were just looking to keep busy and there are players looking to plan ahead, so there were loads of different conversations. As education officer I’m trying to promote the positive stories of players and there are hundreds doing it.”
The Fifers head to last season’s League Two champions Cove today.
Cove striker Mitch Megginson, last term’s top League Two scorer, said: “It’s probably the fittest we’ve come back for pre-season because we had three, four months longer than normal of not doing anything but running yourself.”