The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Lichties vow to learn from ‘terrible’ season and aim high in table
Derek Gaston insists Arbroath can banish the memory of last season’s sorry scrape with relegation – and become playoff contenders like before.
Gaston admits their fight for survival became brutal at times as Dick Campbell’s men only just stayed up at the bitter end of a strained campaign by finishing third bottom in the Championship.
The 34-year-old Lichties keeper, who joined from Morton in 2019, has been a stalwart for the Angus outfit since his switch from Cappielow.
And the popular No 1 believes the Gayfield club should be aiming for a crack at the playoffs like back in 2022 when they were narrowly beaten by Kilmarnock in their pursuit of Premiership football.
Gaston said: “It’s all about trying to make up for the season just past. We’ve had time to reflect and it wasn’t nice.
“Nobody expected us to go through what we did in terms of fighting to stay up, so it did come as a nasty surprise.
“So we’ve got to try and learn from our mistakes and ultimately forget about what was a terrible season.
“There’s no reason why we can’t repeat what we did the season before. We’ve proved we’re a match for anyone on our day.
“The Championship is a tough league but we have a manager and nucleus of players who know it inside out and are capable of taking on the best.
“We shouldn’t be afraid to think big. The last thing we want is another relegation scrap so we need to be aiming high at the other end of the table.”
Gaston has been a consistent performer for Arbroath and maintains he would be happy to finish his career at Gayfield.
He added: “I don’t see why not. I’m very happy here and the club have always been brilliant with me.
“I’m still feeling as fit as ever and know I have a lot to contribute with all my experience. I want to help the club move forward next season. It’s another challenge which I’m really looking forward to.”
Meanwhile, former Lichties striker Dale Hilson has penned a twoyear deal with Stirling Albion.
The former Dundee United player was mainly used in a substitute role for the Gayfield side last season.
He made more than 100 appearances for Arbroath in a two-and-ahalf year spell with the Lichties.
Hilson, 30, has also played for St Mirren, Queen of the South and Forfar Athletic, making more than 230 appearances for the Station Park side.