Joe McCabe will leave Buckie Thistle at the of the season with memories to treasure – but says the ambition and locality of Banks o’ Dee attracted him to the Spain Park side.
The Aberdeen-based right-back is out of contract this summer and has penned a pre-contract agreement with Dee.
McCabe first joined Buckie from Inverurie Locos in March 2019. Two years later, he moved to London for work, but rejoined the Jags upon his return to the north-east in 2022.
During his time at Victoria Park, the 28-year-old helped Thistle win the Breedon Highland League title last season and was also in the side that faced Celtic at Parkhead in the Scottish Cup.
Tough call to move
McCabe looks back fondly on his time at Buckie, but believes he’s ready for a new challenge.
He said: “There are a few different factors that have led to me making this decision.
“Last season was the pinnacle of what you can achieve at this level really. We won the Highland League and played Celtic at Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup.
“There’s then that question of how do you try to top that? Or can we do that again? And realistically, the answer was no.
“Looking back to the end of last season, everyone was disappointed with what happened and not being able to contest the play-offs (after Buckie were deemed ineligible to compete by the SPFL because they didn’t have their bronze club license) – that had an impact on my decision.
“One of the things about Banks o’ Dee is that they have their bronze license and have that ambition to get promoted in the future.
“It was a hard decision for me to make to leave Buckie. It won’t really sink in until the end of the season when I start to look back on what I’ve achieved at Buckie and the friendships I’ve got with people at the club.
“Looking back, the league win was absolutely massive, and in terms of enjoyment, the Celtic game was a once in a lifetime thing to be involved in.
“Those two things were great and have given me memories to cherish forever.”
Dee’s on the doorstep
McCabe knocked back interest from Scottish League clubs to sign for Banks o’ Dee.
Explaining his decision, he added: “Banks o’ Dee have won trophies consistently since coming into the Highland League.
“I know quite a few of their boys and being in Aberdeen it’s on my doorstep as well which is handy.
“Their ambition is another thing that attracted me, they’re sitting third this season and looking forward to next year, I think the hope would be to compete for the league.
“I was speaking to teams in the Scottish League, but one of the major factors was the travelling involved with the options I had.
“Travelling for training is the tricky part – I’m just away to move jobs and start in a more senior position at work and I can’t commit to the travelling required to get to training.
“It would be different if in the future Banks o’ Dee were to go up, because training is on my doorstep. If I got the chance, I’d love to give it a go playing in the Scottish League.”
McCabe remains committed
Buckie are ninth in the Highland League with 11 games left this season, and McCabe said: “I’m still committed to Buckie for the rest of the season.
“In an ideal world this might have been left until the end of the season. But throughout January I was getting pushed by various teams about what I was doing, so I wanted to make a decision.
“I’ve got a good relationship with the manager Lewis MacKinnon and I’ve tried to be honest and respectful with all parties. I’ve got a lot of respect for Lewis, the club and all my team-mates.
“I’ll give 100% until the end of the season and hopefully we can kick on and finish as high as possible.”
McHardy red appealed
Meanwhile, Buckie have appealed the red card shown to Darryl McHardy in Saturday’s defeat to Banks o’ Dee.
The defender was dismissed by referee Jamie McCunnie in the closing stages of the Spain Park encounter after catching Kane Winton with his arm as he jumped for a header.
But the Jags have submitted an appeal to the Scottish FA in hope of getting the decision overturned.
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