Neil Gauld retains his thirst for goals after banishing thoughts of retirement and signing for Turriff United.
The striker will join the Haughs club on a one-year deal upon the expiry of his contract with Banks o’ Dee next month.
Over the course of his career, Gauld has netted 360 goals at Breedon Highland League level, during stints with Inverurie Locos, Huntly, Formartine United and Dee.
The 36-year-old admits he considered retiring earlier this year, but after a good finish to the campaign, which included winning the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup, the hunger to keep playing remains.
Gauld said: “As a club, from the outside, Turriff looks well-run and well-supported.
“I played with Dean Donaldson and I’ve always kept in touch with him and got on really well with him. That was a major factor in my decision.
“Turriff also have a good young team, which I think will suit how I play and where I’m at in my career.
“All round I think it was the best move for me.
“I missed a fair chunk of last season with my wedding and honeymoon, so I didn’t really play much between November and February.
“At the start of the year I was thinking about retiring, but towards the end of the season I did well against some of the top teams and played most of the games for Banks o’ Dee.
👀👀📝……oh who are we kidding!
Turriff United are delighted to announce the pre-contract signing of a Highland League legend!
With goalscoring exploits including the fastest hat-trick in Scottish Cup history and a joint Highland League record of 8 goals scored in one game, pic.twitter.com/RSlx0PAljY
— Turriff United Football Club (@TurriffUnitedFC) May 11, 2023
“Then we had the Highland League Cup final and winning that gave me the appetite for winning trophies again and remembering how good it feels to win something probably has played a part in playing on as well.
“Turriff haven’t won a cup for a few years, so hopefully we can try to push towards that.
“Personally I’d like to have another season with more than 20 goals as well.”
Gauld enjoyed his year with Banks o’ Dee, with last month’s Highland League Cup success the highlight.
He added: “I can’t thank Banks o’ Dee enough for the last year really. The previous season didn’t end very well for me, but they signed me and everyone at Banks o’ Dee was superb with me.
“I’ll be forever grateful to have won the Highland League Cup with them.
“Jamie Watt and Roy McBain took me in and I got on really well with them, and with Josh Winton and Paul Lawson when they took over, and I leave with no bad feelings towards Banks o’ Dee.”
Donaldson’s delight at snaring Gauld
Turriff manager Dean Donaldson said: “Neil will bring goals to our squad, that’s quite obvious. The experience he’s got and the goals he’ll bring will help our young squad.
“People might think at 36 Neil is past it a wee bit, but he certainly isn’t – he’s still hungry and still scoring goals.
“He’ll help some of our boys like Fergus Alberts, whose a young player coming through, John Allan, who hasn’t played in the Highland League before, and Ewan Clark and Kyle Gordon as well.
“It adds more competition, because if they want to play they’ll need to be at it.
“So Neil will bring goals and experience and add a competitive edge, because all the strikers will know they need to do well if they want to play.”
Conversation