Jack Murray

Highland News & Media

Highland League player of the year Jack Murray talks about his move to Elgin City from Buckie Thistle.

Transcript

00:00I just got a wee phone call from Alan and Stefan and it just sort of progressed from there.

00:07Ever since I spoke to him, I liked the sound of what I was hearing and I'm happy to be here now.

00:12Well, we've seen you in the higher league scene for a while now and I've always felt the ambition

00:15was that you could play at a higher level. You must have felt that yourself and

00:18the itch was obviously getting to you that you wanted to play SPFL football.

00:22Yeah, I think probably after the last season, I think I sort of maybe deserved to go at

00:27that and progressed my career. But yeah, I'm grateful for the opportunity with Bucky at

00:33higher league level. It was a good few years for me and I enjoyed my time there.

00:37It's pretty special the way the season went. Obviously, that game at Settle Park,

00:41which you mentioned, was an unbelievable day for us. And then to top it off, we go and win

00:46the league as well, which was what we all wanted to do as our target at the start of the season,

00:51so we're delighted. And the talking point,

00:53of course, was a centre-back scoring 26 goals, which speaks volumes and you were

00:57second or third top scorer in the entire Highland League. Incredible season for you.

01:01Yeah, I think the penalties helped, but still, I think that's 16 I got without the penalties. So

01:07yeah, I was happy with my numbers last season. Yeah, you probably get punished a wee bit more.

01:12Obviously, the higher levels you go up, you get punished for your mistakes. So

01:15yeah, I'll be sort of focusing on keeping the backdoor shut this season.

01:21It is your first taste in SPFL football. I mean, you were at Ross County before,

01:24weren't you? But you'd never played first team there, did you?

01:26No, no.

01:27So it is a new adventure for you. As you say, you feel you're deserving of it. And Arland

01:33mentioned that he feels he's probably outgrown Highland League football.

01:36But it's a new challenge and it'll be a test for you as well.

01:39Yeah, 100 per cent. You know, it's a tough league to get out of, as probably Elgin have seen this

01:44last few years. So yeah, we're looking to give it a good go this season and hopefully we can

01:50progress out of the league.

01:51I dare say there would have been other offers around for you as well,

01:53whether you were a play on demand, was you?

01:55There was a few clubs after, yeah. But I felt Elgin was the best suited for my next step in

02:01my career.

02:02Do you know any of the guys here at all?

02:03Yeah, I know Russell Bingwell well. Obviously, he was at Ross County as well. And then

02:08Ross Draper and a few other boys as well that I've played against and I know their faces.

02:14What's your early feelings about the place, the atmosphere here at Bara Briggs? I mean,

02:16obviously, you've not been involved in a game, but they've got a good support behind

02:20them and they've got some high hopes ahead of this season.

02:23Yeah, I've been impressed with the set-up. Obviously, you've got everything you need

02:28to do well next season right here at your doorstep. So yeah, I'm happy to be here and

02:34can't wait to get going now.

02:35I spoke to Ryan Sargeant briefly as well. He says he found you a formidable opponent.

02:39Now you're going to be on the same side as him. You'll have plenty of memories of the

02:42Fraserburgh games from the last couple of seasons.

02:44Yeah, they were always pretty special games. One of the fans sort of made both big fan

02:50bases in the Highland League and it was always an interesting game coming up against them.

02:56So it's not long now until you get into the friendly matches and then you've played

02:59League Cup before, haven't you, in the group stages with Bucky. So some really cracking

03:04games. The Hibs game, obviously, first up is going to be a really exciting debut for you.

03:07Yeah, you couldn't ask for probably a tougher start than that. But yeah, it's one we'll

03:12look forward to and I can't wait to get going now once all this running is done.

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