East Fife boss Darren Young targets former forward

The Fifers thought they had reached an agreement with Nathan Austin to see him return, but the forward instead opted to sign for Barry Ferguson’s Lowland League side Kelty Hearts.

Scott Linton, who left the Methil club at the end of the last campaign, was also announced by the ambitious central Fife side as part of a raft of signings on Sunday.

But Young has plenty of irons in the fire and wants to see another popular ex-Fifer spearhead his attack next season.

Young said: “I’ve spoken with Chris Duggan, who has been released by Raith, and there’s a chance we can do something with him.

“We’re still speaking with Stewart Murdoch and Chris Higgins too.”

Despite making an offer to midfielder Mark Docherty, he’s likely to move on from the Bayview club to another in League One.

His place down the left, though, could be covered by Sean Burns, who played last season with Brechin City, and has attracted interest from the Fifers.

With the dust starting to settle on last season and with the players well into their pre-season break, the manager has been making plans to make sure they hit the ground running ahead of the new campaign starting.

A few friendly games have already been pencilled in, with Albion Rovers, Dundee United and Queen of the South set to meet the Methil men.

Players will be aiming to impress and win a place in Young’s starting XI, with the battle to be No1 starting early.

The club has announced the signing of former Queen’s Park keeper Jordan Hart who will compete with Brett Long.