New contract trio can help Locos to success

Richard Hastings believes Neil Gauld, Sam Burnett and Craig Gill can be part of a successful Inverurie Locos team after the trio signed contract extensions.

Gauld – the club’s record goalscorer – has penned a deal until the summer of 2023 with Burnett and Gill signing on until the summer of 2025.

Harlaw Park manager Hastings said: “You’ve got to have ambition and you’ve got to have the right people on board.

“From what I’ve seen these guys have stepped up and shown their worth and that was the point myself, the chairman and vice-chairman wanted to get across when we met with them.

“We do value them and appreciate them at the club. I’ve been there myself where when you’ve been at a club for an extended period of time you can become part of the furniture and get taken advantage of.

“I think it’s important to let these players know they are a big asset to the club.

“When you have these types of players you can go on to have success because the club means something to them.

“The players are all on board and I couldn’t be more delighted with the business that we’ve done.”

Striker Gauld has netted 282 goals in 368 appearances across 14 seasons and Hastings believes he still has more to offer.

He added: “I wasn’t aware of Neil before I took the job and that goes for most of the squad really.

“That was quite good for myself because I didn’t have any preconceived ideas.

“For myself it was a case of assessing everyone. People have records and you talk about goalscoring, but for me it was about what I see in the player.

“There’s no doubt that Neil has that natural finishing ability, he’s a natural goalscorer and you see that in his play.

“He’s a clever player when you watch his movement, he gets into good positions and can carve chances out of nowhere.

“Neil’s a player we value having in our squad.”

Midfielder Burnett joined Inverurie in 2019 and has played 48 times and scored four goals.

Gill, who has been used in both defence and midfield, has featured 31 times for the Railwaymen.

He said: “I’ve assessed the whole squad since I’ve come in and Craig and Sam are two players who have done well for us.

“They are quite versatile which is always useful. We’ve used Craig in a number of positions and he’s really helped us out.

“Sam has a great football brain and you see that when he trains and when he plays, I saw it within seconds.”

Craig Gill, left, has been in fine form for Fort William.