BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Craig Reid has revealed former team-mate Allan Johnston was key to him joining Dunfermline following his departure from Motherwell.
The 29-year-old, who played six times on loan at St Mirren earlier this season, has spent the last 18 months at Fir Park but left on Monday ahead of the transfer deadline to allow him to seek greater first-team opportunities elsewhere.
With the Pars having seen Marc McAusland leave recently to chase his dream of playing abroad, and with Callum Fordyce, Ryan Williamson and Lewis Martin all currently sidelined, Johnston was desperate to beef up his back-line with a new recruit.
Reid played alongside the Fifers boss at Queen of the South for two seasons and is thrilled to have secured his future for the remainder of the season.
Reid said: “I’m pleased to get it sorted quickly. I only left Motherwell on Monday and I heard of interest from Dunfermline, and I jumped straight on it.
“It’s a massive club, a sleeping giant, you could say, in Scottish football, with a big fan-base and I’m looking forward to helping out.
“The manager and I used to play together at Queen of the South. He was right midfield and I was right-back.
“I know what he’s like, I know how he likes to play football. He briefly took over there before I left Queen of the South, so we know each other well and that was a big pull to come here.”
Despite having left behind a team in the Premiership, Reid insists he had no qualms about joining Dunfermline two divisions below.
Instead, he is excited by the prospect of helping the East End Park outfit return themselves to the second-tier of Scottish football.
He added to www.dafc.co.uk: “I didn’t have any hesitation in dropping down to League One. You can see where this club wants to be and the size of the club.
“They’ve got a winning mentality just now and hopefully I can come and help add to the strength of the squad, to push on and hopefully win the title at the end of the season.
“I’m ready to go. I picked up a wee injury at the tail end of my loan spell with St Mirren, but I’ve been training with Motherwell fully for a couple of weeks now and it’s all good.”
