Q
Have you seen the lads club under 15,s they are currently the top team in Tayside & play great football hopefully there will be a few future Arbroath players there. All the best for the rest of the season.

A
Sorry but I have not had the opportunity to watch the Lads Club as yet but it is my intention to take in several boys and youth team games over the rest of the season. I firmly believe that good young players from Arbroath must be the mainstay of future Arbroath teams. We would be neglecting our responsibility if we failed to keep on top of burgeoning talent from the local boys leagues.

Q
Great to have you Back John. My question is what I want to know John is when will Kevin McMullan learn to walk away from an incident too many times he picks up silly bookings for nothing surely a word of wisdom in his ear should teach him.

A
I have already had a word with Kevin about walking away from such incidents. Kevin is a fully committed player for Arbroath FC and sometimes this commitment spills over. I have told Kevin that he is such an integral part of our team we cannot afford to have him on the sidelines looking in. I believe Kevin has what it takes to forge out a long career in the professional ranks and as he matures I think you will see less and less eyeball confrontations with opposition players.

Q
John, I'm from Arbroath and played in the youth team for a while when Eddie Wolecki was there, but out playing in Tennessee on a scholarship now, a lad in my team was at Violet with you I believe, George McLaughlin, he reckons he’s coming home at Xmas and staying to try and make it at home. Whats the chances of him getting into the Lichties side? Just another thing that is quite amazing, we played against the former Arbroath keeper Craig Wight last week, just incase anyone was wondering where he had gone to?! u now know he is in America on a scholarship.

A
Thanks for your letter. I have spoken to George already. He called me from Tennessee last week to tell me he was coming back to Scotland next month. I have told him he is more than welcome to try his luck here. We will invite him in for training and hopefully he may be able to take part in a couple of reserve games as a trialist, then we will take it from there. I was also delighted to hear that Craig Wight is still in the States. When he eventually comes home I am sure like yourself you will have benefited from the experience of living abroad.

Q
I am a Red Lichtie fan of many years, making my first trip to Gayfield with my father Ian Grant( an ex-Arbroath player of the 50's)in 1970.I have a business of my own in Dubai and have lived here for the last 4-years, however still follow the Red Lichties every move. The question that I have for John is..........could you let me know what our youth/reserve system is like, and how many youngsters from the Angus area have we got in our 1st team. I remember from many years ago when Arbroath were viewed as the big team of Angus and WE bought players from Brechin, Montrose, and Forfar.......not the other way around. So we didn't lose players like Henslee to Montrose? I hope that I receive a reply as this is a genuine question of interest and concern for Arbroath, and I will be home to watch some games at Xmas/New Year with the usual enthusiasm.

A
Thanks for your email. I am always delighted to hear from Arbroath fans who still follow the team even though they are many miles from home. To answer your questions we have a very good youth team at the moment and it is no surprise that a few have already caught my eye over the last few weeks. There is no reserve league this season so players who are not involved on Saturday, along with 3 or 4 youth players take part in friendlies against fellow professional teams and also those from Junior ranks. We try to play every fortnight to keep most of the players match fit. Over the last few weeks we have included Kevin McMullen, Paul Watson, Garry Warren, Steve Cook and Nicky Smith in our 1st team squad. These players are the future of the club and we must ensure they never leave unless its under our terms. Have a safe journey home from Dubai for Christmas.

Q
Are there any new signings coming in at January? Or are you happy with the squad you have and will continue bringing younger players through?

A
I have told the 1st team squad that I do not intend to make dramatic changes to personnel during the transfer window. In my opinion it seems pointless to invest all our time and energies on the current crop of players only for us to get rid of them a few months later. Saying that, I am not adverse to fine tuning the squad but not on the basis of quantity but on quality.

Q
Can we expect to see anymore players like Swankie or Henslee coming through into the team?

A
I believe we can nurture and develop young players from the under 17’s and 19’s. I will ensure that I can attend as many youth team games over the season as humanly possible. It is vital for provincial clubs like Arbroath to promote youth team players into the 1st team squad on the basis of ability and not age rather than bypass them in favour of signing players from other clubs.

Q
I think we only need about 4 players to have an excellent squad. A "George Rowe" type experienced central defender, yourself and Andy Cargill added to midfield and a Colin McGlashan type striker. What do you think?.

A
I think you may have a point here especially the point regarding myself! I am always keen to speak to players who will enhance the squad and who have the drive to take Arbroath FC forward. Furthermore if they can pass on their experiences to our younger players then all the better.

Q
John, are you on the look out for an experienced penalty box striker?, i.e. like "Dibble" McGlashan. Although we have young strong running forwards none of them are penalty box strikers who will score with a half-chance.

A
I take on board your comments about an experienced penalty box striker but I do feel that our current crop of forwards are developing a more clinical edge to their game. That is not to say I am not looking around at potential centre forwards though I have to weigh up the pros and cons of bringing an experienced CF in. If such a player becomes available I will obviously take the opportunity to talk to him. If I don’t see the hunger in their eyes then I would rather not commit ourselves to spending the Club’s money on someone who is only here for a final pay cheque