Milne leaving Cove for full-time at Jags

Cove Rangers boss Paul Hartley insists the League One champions could not compete with the lure of full-time football after Harry Milne signed a pre-contract agreement with Partick Thistle.

The 25-year-old left-back has agreed a two-year deal with the Championship side who are primed to secure a place in the Premiership play-offs this weekend.

Speaking to the Cove Rangers website Hartley said: “Everyone at Cove Rangers wishes Harry well.

“Partick have offered him what we can’t at this stage, which is the opportunity to play full-time football.

“He leaves with our best wishes and a hope that he does well in the next exciting chapter of his career.”

Milne, who has been voted players’ player of the year by his team-mates, is one of the four nominees for the PFA Scotland League One Player of the Year award, with the winner due to be announced in Glasgow on Sunday.

Hartley is sad to lose the services of the defender, who has scored six goals and provided seven assists this season.

The Cove boss said: “There is no better way for Harry to sign off than as a league champion.

“The statistics underline just how great a season he has had.

“Harry has also been a magnificent servant to Cove Rangers, has always conducted himself in a professional manner and it’s been a pleasure working with him for the last three years.”

Director John Sheran, who signed Milne in 2015, insists the player leaves with the club’s best wishes as he pursues a full-time career with Ian McCall’s side at Firhill.

The former Cove boss said: “On behalf of my fellow directors and everyone else at the club I would like to repeat what Paul said and wish Harry all the best for when he moves on in the summer.

“He has worked hard to earn the move that has now come his way.

“Harry was very much a gangly, raw, player when I received a tip-off that we should have a look at him after he had been released by Aberdeen.

“We invited Harry to play in a trial match against Echt and you could see right away that he had something special.

“Harry has put in a tremendous amount of effort to improve himself as a player since then and helped us achieve so much during his seven years at Cove.

“It would have been great if we could have kept Harry with us a little longer, but we fully respect his desire to have a go at playing fulltime for the first time in his career.”

“There is no better way for Harry to sign off than as a league champion

CHAMPION: Cove’s Harry Milne lifts the League 1 trophy in front of team-mates at the Balmoral Stadium on Saturday.