Brora Rangers manager Steven Mackay is thrilled to have signed a player who is proven at a higher level after landing Shane Sutherland.
The former Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Elgin City and Peterhead attacker has penned a three-year deal with the Cattachs.
Sutherland is Brora’s second signing of the summer, after they recruited goalkeeper Cammy Mackay earlier this month.
Sutherland’s career started in the Breedon Highland League as a youngster with Wick Academy before he was snapped up by Inverness in 2007.
Having played in the SPFL for so long, Brora boss Mackay is confident the 33-year-old can make a big impact at Dudgeon Park when the new season gets under way.
He said: “It’s a huge plus for us Shane wanted to come to Brora.
“Everyone knows a fully fit Shane Sutherland can play well beyond the Highland League.
“It will be massive for us to have someone of his quality within the squad.
“Shane’s got great experience and he’s in great shape as well. The way he plays he’ll be a huge asset.
“He’s strong and physical and also has great awareness on the ball.
“He can score goals as he’s demonstrated at Elgin, Peterhead and Caley Thistle.
“I look forward to seeing him in action helping us with our ambitions.”
Injury lay-off
Sutherland hasn’t played since May 2022 when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury playing for Caley Thistle in their promotion play-off semi-final against Arbroath.
However, Mackay is confident Brora will see a fully fit and firing Sutherland lining up for them.
He added: “Shane’s had a tough time in the last couple of years with his ACL injury.
“But I don’t think that should detract from the player he is.
“We’ll help him with the final stages of his rehab, but we’re very confident we can get him back to playing his best football.
“That will be a huge benefit to us. In his last season at Caley Thistle he was one of their best players and was playing at the top end of the Championship.
“If we can get him close to that level he’ll be a massive asset to us.
“You go into this deal knowing there’s an element of risk to it.
“But we’ve had a physiotherapist assess him and we’ve had a good chat with Shane.
“He’s desperate to get back playing and he’s worked very hard alone in the gym in recent months which is hard to do.
“Our aim is to help Shane get back to the levels he was at and we’ll see the benefit of that.
“Shane’s a player we’ve admired for a long time and for various reasons in the past we’ve never managed to sign him.”