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Six Sign Contract Extensions at Bayview

We’re delighted to confirm that Danny Denholm, Chris Higgins, Stewart Murdoch, Pat Slattery, Kevin Smith and Liam Watt have all signed contract extensions at East Fife.

Club Captain Kevin Smith initially joined the club on loan from Dumbarton in January 2014 before making the moved permanently in for the start of the 2014/15 season. He was appointed Club Captain before the beginning of the 2015/16 season, guiding the team to the League Two title that season. Kevin has notched up 212 appearances and 47 goals to date and has extended his stay at Bayview until the summer of 2022.

Pat Slattery signed on at Bayview before the start of out 2015/16 League Two championship winning season, making his debut against Falkirk in the League Cup in July that year. He has featured on 203 occasions, scoring 5 goals, during his 6 seasons at Bayview and has now extended his contract until 2023.

Midfielder Liam Watt joined East Fife in June 2018 from Brechin City and has scored 10 goals in 93 appearances during his 3 seasons at Bayview. Liam has extended his contract for a further 2-years.

Stewart Murdoch made his East Fife debut back in 2010 while on loan from Falkirk and returned, again on loan, in February 2019 before making the moved permanent in May the same year. Stewart has 88 East Fife appearances and 4 goals to his name and has extended his stay at East Fife until the summer of 2023.

Danny Denholm joined the club from Arbroath in May 2019 and has notched up 54 appearances and 9 goals in his two seasons at Bayview. Danny has penned a one-year extension to his current contract.

Thomas Collins, Ross Davidson, Ross Dunlop, Aaron Dunsmore, Liam Newton, Danny Swanson and Ryan Wallace are all currently under contract for next season.

Player Departures

Following the conclusion of the 2020/21 season, the club can now confirm that Craig Watson, Brett Long, Kyle Bell, Jordan Hart and Josh McConville will leave the club when their contracts expire at the end of this month.

Craig Watson joined the club in the summer of 2017 after leaving Hamilton Academical, making his debut against Peterhead in July that year before going on to make 100 appearances during his 4 years at Bayview, scoring 9 goals.

Goalkeeper Brett Long signed on at Bayview in May 2018 and featured on 77 occasions, keeping 19 clean sheets. Brett was awarded the Supporters Club Young Player of the Year twice in his time at the club, including for season 2020/21.

Kyle Bell’s 3 years at East Fife were badly impacted by a serious knee injury picked up in a pre-season match before the start of season 2019/20. Kyle made 22 appearances during his first season at Bayview and will move on to East of Scotland side Glenrothes FC for the start of next season.

Jordan Hart joined the club in May 2019 from Queen’s Park and has featured on 28 occasions, keeping 5 clean sheets during his two seasons at Bayview.

Midfielder Josh McConville was promoted from the Under 20s set-up at the start of last season. Josh made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old against Stirling Albion in the Challenge Cup in August 2019.

Speaking to the media team, Manager Darren Young expressed his thanks to the players moving on: “Janny (Craig Watson) has had a bit of an up-and-down time during his 4 years at the club due to injuries but established himself as a first-team regular this season. Craig has been a great servant to East Fife and always gave his all for the team.”

“Brett and Jordan have both done well for the club over the past few seasons however, goalkeeper was one area we wanted to freshen up before the start of next season. Both guys are still young and I’m sure they’ll continue to develop and progress in their careers.”

“Kyle has been so unlucky over the last 18 months, firstly by a serious knee injury, then his comeback was curtailed by the covid pandemic. Kyle has signed a pre-contract with Glenrothes FC so hopefully he gets the game time he needs and deserves.”

“Josh is another who’s career has been badly impacted by the pandemic. Josh needed games but unfortunately his spell at Lochee was cut short by the closure of their league. We felt Josh’s opportunities were limited at East Fife so hopefully he will get the matches he needs elsewhere”.

“All of the players leave with the best wishes from both me and the management team and we thank them for their contributions during their time at the club”.

Everyone at East Fife would like to thank Craig, Brett, Kyle, Jordan and Josh for their efforts and wish them all the best for the future.

Thank You to our Loan Players

Everyone at East Fife would like to thank the players who joined us on loan during the latter part of the season, and their parent clubs, for all their efforts: Cole McKinnon (Rangers), Miller Fenton (Dunfermline Athletic), Sean Brown (East Stirlingshire), Alasdair Adams (Tranent Juniors), Aaron Steele (St. Johnstone) and Greig Spence (Stenhousemuir).

Darren Young: “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the players we had on loan last season. All the boys did everything we asked of them during their spell at Bayview and I’m sure all will have benefited from featuring in competitive games. Good luck for the future guys!”