Brown Ferguson exclusive: Having Thomas in engine room is great boost to Linlithgow Rose midfield!

Linlithgow Rose boss Brown Ferguson believes latest signing Thomas Halleran will give his midfield greater balance.
Thomas Halleran on the ball for Stenhousemuir last season (Pic by Scott Louden)Thomas Halleran on the ball for Stenhousemuir last season (Pic by Scott Louden)
Thomas Halleran on the ball for Stenhousemuir last season (Pic by Scott Louden)

Halleran, 21, arrives on a two-year deal after five years at Stenhousemuir, a club Ferguson bossed from 2015 to 2018.

“I worked with Tam when I was at Stenhousemuir,” Ferguson told the Journal and Gazette. "We brought him up from the Forth Valley Academy which was attached to Stenhousemuir at that time.

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"He has obviously gained a bit more experience in the time that I’ve been away from the club.

"Technically, he’s a very good football player and a very good passer of the ball, particularly short range passing.

"His speed and weight of pass is excellent and he can create opportunities.

"As well as that he’s got a very good strike on him. So he’s certainly something different to what we’ve got in the middle of the park.

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"You’ve got Rooster (Ruari MacLennan) who can go and break lines, Dean Cairns who can play the ball in deeper areas of the pitch, Arnie Kasa who can break things up, Luke Watt who’s got a range of passing. So Tam brings something different and he’s an exciting, quality young player.

"I’m really pleased to have him on board.”

Ferguson provided an update on his bid to also sign a left back and a goalkeeper.

"We are just exploring a lot of things just now,” the Rose gaffer added.

"There should be players maybe coming in to see the club, we are in advanced talks with a couple.

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"But nothing’s concrete and nothing’s signed at this moment in time. Left back and goalkeeper are the areas we really need to hone in on and if we can get those players over the line over the next week or so then we can assess the squad and see where we can add that bit of quality where we’re maybe lacking.

"But those two areas are what we’re really desperate for at the moment.”

Ferguson also gave his thoughts on Rangers Colts and Celtic Colts being given the green light to join the Lowland League – one division above the East of Scotland Premier Division which Rose play in – for one season.

"I like the idea of the Colts,” Ferguson said. “My gripe is with the governance and the leadership of it. It should be getting led by the governing body, not Rangers and Celtic.

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"The fact this is being led by Rangers and Celtic doesn’t say a lot for our governance.

"The other issue is: ‘How do other young players (who don’t play for Rangers or Celtic) get those opportunities?’

"But in terms of the actual forward thinking, I have to applaud Rangers for doing that.

"The question then is: ‘Why is it not the governing body?’

"It should be part of a bigger strategy for the game. The governance is so shambolic with all the different leagues and structures and rules and regulations.

"That’s my biggest gripe in it all.

"It’s part of a bigger jigsaw about how we develop the game in Scotland.

"But we’re never in a position to do that because of how the structure is.”

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