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SportScottish ChampionshipPaul Hartley backs Hamilton Accies loan signing Louis Longridge to bring freshness...

Paul Hartley backs Hamilton Accies loan signing Louis Longridge to bring freshness to Falkirk attack

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PAUL HARTLEY has backed Louis Longridge to bring an ‘edge’ to Falkirk’s attack after making the Hamilton Accies forward his first signing for the club.

Longridge has made 13 appearances for the Premiership outfit this season but has been allowed to leave on a loan deal lasting through to at least January 3.

The 26-year-old, who had a loan spell at Raith Rovers last year, is poised to make his debut for the Bairns in Saturday’s derby clash with bitter rivals Dunfermline.

(Pic: Twitter @llongridge7)

Hartley is thrilled to have been able to add to the squad he inherited from Peter Houston as he seeks a first league win since taking over at the club last month.

The former Dundee and Alloa Athletic boss said: “Louis is someone who will bring that little bit of freshness to the squad and he’s a player I’ve seen a lot of – he always impressed when he came up against Dundee.

“So, when I got the opportunity to bring him in I jumped at the chance.

“He’s had a good grounding, he’s played over 130 games for Hamilton, and he’s a player who has good ability in the final third, where he’s very positive.

“It’s good signing for us, just to add a fresh face and give us more competition.

EDGE

“I’m really looking forward to working with him. He trained on Tuesday and looked really sharp and bright, and he wants to do well.

“He’s been in and out of the Hamilton team, so it gives him that little bit of an edge for the next couple of months to come and do well. I think it’s good for both parties.”

Falkirk’s 4-2 defeat away to Queen of the South on Saturday left them languishing in second bottom spot in the Championship and Hartley admits he needs to make more changes to his squad in the coming weeks.

He added: “We’ve looked at the squad and we’ve assessed it. I still think we’re quite short in some areas.

“But to have another front man in is great. We haven’t scored enough goals or created enough this season, and it gives us that little edge up front.”

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