Penicuik Athletic boss on why he wants veteran striker Paul Tansey to extend his stay

Paul Tansey is out of contract in the summer and considering retirement, but Steve McLeish wants him stay

Penicuik Athletic boss Stevie McLeish is trying to persuade 36-year-old forward Paul Tansey to sign on again for another season after hailing the impact he made on his return from injury.

The veteran came off the bench to help Penicuik come from behind and get back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory away to Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale.

McLeish welcomed back captain Andy Forbes, and his experience along with 36-year-old Tansey, who made his return from injury, was pivotal.

The Penicuik boss wants Tansey, who is out of contract at the end of the season and pondering retirement, to sign on for next season.

McLeish continued: “Tansey was tremendous when he came on. He came on and you could just hear the difference, all you could hear was him barking at our two strikers, and that’s exactly what we needed. He was setting the tone with his aggressive press and his quality on the ball, and the rest followed. You need experienced players all over the pitch to help the young boys.

“I’ve already told him I want him to stay and I really hope he does stay, I hope he puts pen to paper and I’m sure the Penicuik punters want him to stay as well. There is always a part to play for players like Tansey and Lumbo [Lumbert Kataleza] because you can’t buy their experience.”

After losing to their two East of Scotland Premier Division title rivals, Tranent and Linlithgow Rose back to back, it was imperative that Penicuik won to maintain top spot. They did so thanks to Matty Combe’s equaliser and a Lothian own goal after the hosts had led through Joe Viola.

“It was a good contest, and they might feel a wee bit aggrieved, and I get that,” added McLeish. “In the first half we looked like a team that was a wee bit spooked after what’s happened the last two weeks. We were maybe a bit within ourselves, that said, we probably should’ve taken the lead through Matty Combe before they scored.

“We responded well and scored a good goal. I spoke to the team at half-time and asked the players in midfield to get closer to each other and to be more progressive going forward.

“We were much better in the second half and were probably more dominant, after we took the lead I got to see my real team that I know can play. Lothian didn’t really get anywhere near our 18 yard box for the last 20 minutes, for the last five minutes they went direct and tried to put us under pressure.

“I’m relieved and happy because we needed that win after two defeats on the bounce and without scoring a goal, and looking like a shadow of the team we actually are. We rolled our sleeves up and got what we needed.”

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