2 hours ago
Two of our loanees at Nairn St Ninian during the first half of the season have now made the move the Showfield club permanently.
Josh Stephenson and Ross Murphy linked up with Stuart Finnie’s side on loan at the start of the season to join their tilt at progressing out of the North of Scotland League Championship.
Those deals expired at New Year and now an agreement has been reached between the two clubs for the duo to make the moves permanent.
Manager Wayne Mackintosh had this to say: “We wish Josh and Ross well at their new club. Both have been with us for a long time and it has been great to see their development over the years through the youth teams and on to the fringes of the First Team.
“They are both at the stages of their careers where they need to play adult football on a regular basis and they will receive the opportunity to do that with Nairn Saints. They both have a great attitude and have been a pleasure to work with at the club. There is no reason why they cannot kick-on now that they are permanent Saints players and enjoy success there and progress up to a higher level again.
“It is a familiar environment for them having been there during the first half of the season which will hopefully suit them both and with us working so closely with Saints on a couple of other fronts, we will no doubt cross paths with them soon. I wish them all the best of luck for their future careers and thank them for their service to the club.”
Winger Josh joined us as a 16-year-old in the Summer of 2022 after being released by Inverness CT. After playing in our Under-18s and Reserves Team, he made solitary First Team appearance for us coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 away win at Strathspey Thistle in March 2024. He progressed into our First Team permanently in the Summer of 2024, featuring in our pre-season fixtures before joining Forres Thistle on loan, where he finished the club’s top scorer. The 19-year-old returned to us at the end of last season and again featured regularly in pre-season during the Summer before being loaned to Nairn St Ninian.
Ross is a left-sided defender who also joined us in the Summer of 2022, featuring in our Under-16s and Under-18s teams. He was brought into the First Team squad for a pre-season match away at Lochee United in 2024 before joining Forres Thistle on loan that Summer. The 18-year-old was promoted to the First Team on a permanent basis ahead of this season and featured for us during pre-season before joining Nairn St Ninian on loan.
Both players leave the club with thanks and best wishes from us all at Nairn County.
