Chris Duggan thankful after East Fife spell ends

The 25-year-old striker enjoyed two spells in the black and gold, but has had an injury hit start to his second after rejoining from Kingdom rivals Raith Rovers in the summer.

Duggan was signed by Gary Naysmith after impressing while playing against the Methil men when on loan to Queens Park from Partick Thistle.

But it was the following season when Duggan really made his mark at the club, finishing as top scorer with 14 league goals to his name before leaving for Raith.

The move back to the country of his birth was announced by East Fife ahead of Saturday’s Kingdom derby and Duggan felt it was the right time to move on.

He said: “I leave on January 6.

“It’s a personal decision that, after talking to family, I’ve come to.

“I was born out there and have family there and it’s something I’ve been wanting to try for a while.

“The time was right.”

Duggan said the Methil club couldn’t have done more to assist him in making the move Down Under and is aiming to resume his playing career when he arrives.

“I can’t thank everyone at East Fife enough, they’ve all been great in accepting my decision and also helping me when I’ve needed help with the move,” he said.

“There’s nothing official yet but I’m planning to play when I get out there.

“I’m still contracted to East Fife until I go but Raith Rovers was my last game.

“I will train during the week but won’t play at Montrose.

“It just depends on when my registration gets terminated at East Fife and how long it takes to transfer over.

“That will determine when I can sign with whoever.”

The forward will go down as one of East Fife’s best of the decade and says he’ll always look back on his time with the Bayview club fondly.

“I’ve had a lot of highlights,” said Duggan.

“The second season I was here, the first under Darren Young, was personally my best one.”

Despite struggling this term with injury, Duggan said there were still moments of the current campaign he’ll remember.

“This season has been a bit stop-start with injuries,” admitted the striker.

“But I had the Hearts game which was a highlight at the start of the season.

“It’s all been great and that’s the reason I came back here after leaving Raith.

“I can’t thank everyone enough for what they have done over the years.”