Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Josh Rae believes loan spell will keep him sharp for Peterhead resumption

Josh Rae in action for Peterhead
Josh Rae in action for Peterhead

Peterhead goalkeeper Josh Rae hopes his loan spell with Queen of the South will ensure he’s sharp for whenever the lower leagues return.

The Blue Toon custodian has spent the last three weeks on an emergency loan to the Doonhamers in the Championship.

With football below the Championship not set to return before next month at the earliest, having been suspended since January 11, Rae appreciates being able to train every day and be involved in games with the Palmerston club.

The 20-year-old has been on the bench for Queen of the South’s last three fixtures and has enjoyed working in a full-time environment.

Rae, a former Celtic and Leeds youth keeper, said: “Any footballer wants to be full-time and training every day.

“It’s been good getting to do that for a few weeks and it will hopefully ensure I’m ready for the rest of the season at Peterhead.

“I want to be sharp for when the lower leagues resume and that was the main reason I took up this opportunity.

Josh Rae in action for Peterhead.

“It’s all about coming back and being 100% ready for the first match whenever we start back.

“The next update is going to be at the start of March, so we could potentially be straight back into it after that.

“We don’t know what will happen, but I just need to be ready to go whenever that is.”

Rae is grateful to parent club Peterhead for allowing him the opportunity to join Queens on a short-term loan while the Buchan side remains in cold storage.

He added: “I got a phone call saying they wanted to take me on an emergency loan and Jim McInally said it would be a good thing for me to keep my match fitness up and train every day and stay sharp for whenever the lower leagues restart.

Josh Rae has thanked Jim McInally and Peterhead for allowing him to go on loan.

“I took a couple of days to think about it, but I thought it would be a good idea.

“It’s been good to be involved in matches at Queen of the South and the main thing has been being able to train full-time.

“I really appreciate what the club and the manager have done.

“Ever since I signed for Peterhead they have been brilliant with me and I’ve loved playing for the club.

“So I’m thankful they’ve allowed me this opportunity as well.”

Rae hopes he can return to full-time football at some stage in his career, but right now his main focus is still with Peterhead.

He’s played 13 times for Jim McInally’s men this season – keeping four clean sheets – and Rae hopes to continue developing at Balmoor.

“In the longer term, I want to play at the highest level I possibly can,” he said.

“But I’m enjoying playing week-in, week-out at Peterhead and that’s all I want to be doing just now is playing games.

“Before the shutdown, I was playing and I felt I was doing well and as a young goalkeeper that’s what you want.”

Joining Queen of the South means Rae has faced legendary Doonhamers striker Stephen Dobbie in training.

Rae said: “He’s up there with the best I’ve trained with, his finishing is unbelievable.

“He just knows where to put it where the goalie can’t get it – he’s one of the best I’ve trained with.”