Clydebank FC is delighted to announce a new Co-operation Agreement with Scottish Premiership side St Mirren.
The scheme, introduced this summer by the Scottish FA, allows clubs in the Scottish Premiership and Championship to place a maximum of three players who are eligible to play for the Scotland National Team on a co-operation list, meaning the players are able to move freely between the sides over the course of their time on loan.
Clydebank manager Gordon Moffat explained: “It’s really positive news. We’ve had that relationship with St Mirren going back to last season when we brought Owen (Carey) into the club on loan. We’ve built the relationship at our level with Allan McManus and Craig McLeish, and now the clubs are building a relationship at boardroom level through the partnership.
“It’s something I think is a real positive for Scottish football more widely. When we realised it could be an option to have that with St Mirren, we were keen and happy they have seen enough in us. They trusted us last season with Owen, and we’ve had a few other lads in training with us so it’s really positive. It does a lot more than just bringing players in, there’s potential for us as coaches to go in and watch some sessions and learn from them so it’s a really good move for both clubs.”
As part of the agreement, defender Billy Hutchison has joined the club and made his Bankies bow in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Lochar Thistle. Billy joins us with us having been part of St Mirren’s first team squad for their pre-season camp in Spain.
Moff added: “We were missing Billy for a couple of weeks there because he got over with St Mirren’s first team camp abroad, which was a great experience for him and by all accounts he did really well. He’s obviously still got some developing to do physically, but you can see his attributes on the ball and he’s going to be a really good player. It’s just part of the Co-operation Agreement that we help St Mirren with that and expose Billy to a first team environment. That’s not just games, it’s the dressing room, the training ground and just being around first team players regularly so hopefully we can help develop him further.”
Clydebank chair Grace McGibbon added: “We are really pleased to be able to announce the new partnership with St Mirren, which we hope can be mutually beneficial for both clubs going forward.
“It’s a source of pride that Clydebank FC is seen by a historic and Scottish Premiership club like St Mirren as the right place to send their developing talent. We work hard to run the club as professionally as we can for the fifth tier, and to give players the best environment possible to thrive, which is also credit to Gordon and our coaching staff. It’s an exciting development and we’re really looking forward to strengthening our ties with everyone at St Mirren throughout the course of the agreement.”
