July 15th 2024
Youngsters Ciaran Young and Lewis Mitchell have signed new contracts with us. The promising duo both debuted during last season and are now tied down until the summer of 2023. Ciaran is an 18-year-old attacker who can play on the left or through the middle and has come through the club’s youth development programme. The Nairn-based player said: “I am very happy to have signed. I have been at the club for five years now, so it is a good moment for me to sign with the first team. “I have been training to get my fitness up to try to take it into pre-season, which will hopefully be soon.” Lewis is a 19-year-old midfielder who joined us from Inverness CT two years ago and has featured predominantly for our Under-20s. He said: “I have been training with the first team for quite a while now, so I am absolutely delighted to get it over the line. I will be working hard and giving it 100 percent to try to get into the team. “I have been doing some ball work and some sprints recently to keep myself ticking over until the start of pre-season.” Manager Ronnie Sharp said: “Lewis and Ciaran are both really talented players and the next step for them is to sign these contracts. We now know we have the next few years to work with them and try to improve them and hopefully they will produce the goods for us. “They have been training with the first team, so they know what it is all about. If we can mould them into the way we want them to play, that will help us an awful lot. “We will not hold them back because of their age – if they are good enough then they will play.” Director of Football, Graeme Macleod, added: “Ciaran and Lewis signing up shows that the pathway is there for young players to progress to the First Team. “The challenge now is for them to establish themselves as Highland League players. The easier part is to be called up to First Team training and look like they have the potential to make it. The hard part is now converting that into the level of performance that we are looking for week in, week out. We want them to work towards that level of consistency over the next three seasons. “It also shows the rest of the players in the Reserves and Youth Teams that they will get the chance to play for the First Team if they are good enough. We are keen to develop as many of our own players and this sends a message to the players in the Reserves and Youth Teams that the opportunity is there to go out and get themselves a professional contract with us.” Ciaran made his debut in the 2-1 home victory over Clachnacuddin in October, striking the post in the lead up to the winning goal. He also scored nine goals in nine appearances for the Under-20s last season, including a hat-trick away at Orkney in the North Caledonian Cup. Lewis’s First Team debut came in November last year, when he appeared from the substitutes bench in the 7-2 home success over Deveronvale while he also featured in the home match against Rothes just before Christmas. Ciaran and Lewis after siging new contract. Ciaran and Lewis after siging new contract v2
