Boss Kevin Rutkiewicz admits East Kilbride ‘obtained fortunate’ with the signing of Bob McHugh as he revealed a bit little bit of convincing and a household connection at Okay-Park helped seal the striker’s swap from Queen’s Park.
Final season McHugh helped the Spiders seal promotion to the Championship and now he shall be tasked with spearheading Kilby’s Lowland League title bid, in addition to their quest to achieve the SPFL by means of the pyramid play-offs.
The 30-year-old dropped a division final time period when he left Morton for Queen’s Park and he now drops three tiers to affix Kilby.
However Rutkiewicz says the thrill of making an attempt to assist EK obtain their goals and a little bit of fortune has been an necessary issue within the signing coup.
He defined: “Bob is an enormous one for us. There’s a bit of fine timing and luck concerned although.
“Bob is seeking to go part-time and his cousin is Neil McLaughlin [the Kilby midfielder] so there’s that connection as properly.
“Bob is now making a life-choice, in case you like, to go part-time.
“When he left Queen’s Park he wished to go someplace thrilling the place he may assist a group obtain one thing. It was an enormous coup for Queen’s Park when he went there from the Championship with Morton, and the rationale he went there, I feel, was he felt there may very well be actual success there, which they obtained with the promotion.
“Clearly we hope he can come right here and achieve success as properly.
“The timing was proper however we additionally needed to do a wee little bit of convincing by exhibiting him the mission right here, what me and Invoice [Orr, the assistant manager] are all about.
“He’s purchased into it and we're delighted to get him on board.”
The previous Motherwell ahead has signed a one-year deal at Okay-Park and brings a wealth of SPFL expertise to the desk, having additionally featured for Airdrieonians, Queen of the South, Falkirk and Morton throughout his profession.
He scored eight objectives in 40 appearances for the Spiders final season as they gained promotion from League One through the play-offs, defeating Airdrie within the closing.
And Rutkiewicz hopes he'll have the ability to convey out one of the best in his squad, in addition to hitting the purpose path as a much-needed quantity 9.
He added: “Final season Neilly obtained 20 objectives, Joao Victoria and Cammi Elliot each obtained 20 plus, and we’d be on the lookout for Bob to affix them with comparable numbers subsequent season.
“However what Bob also can convey together with his expertise and skill is convey one of the best out of the lads within the squad.
“Reality be instructed, after we arrived on the membership a pure quantity 9 wasn’t there as a result of Chris Aitken had been trimming the squad, huge Lee Miller had left, Craig Malcolm had left and people have been extra pure nines than the likes of Cammi and Joao who play extra out broad.
“Bob does give us a extra pure quantity 9 and I’m actually hopeful he'll assist the group in that division.”
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