Frank plea for new Falkirk contract

3 Oct 1994

FRANK McAvennie is making his presence felt as he tries to set up a swansong in the premier division.

He made the headlines against Hearts with the winning goal and two clearances off the line to seal a Falkirk victory in his first starting appearance for the club.

His impact had been minimal prior to the sixty-ninth minute strike which denied Hearts any points from a match they should surely have won.

When chances fell to McAvennie, they were mopped up by the Hearts defence and he seemed to be lacking in pace.

But even though he needed two efforts to put the ball away, McAvennie had silenced the doubters with his winner.

"I couldn't believe it when Henry Smith saved the first shot.

Luckily the rebound came straight to me," he said afterwards.

Disbelief was what characterised McAvennie's post match analysis.

"When I kicked it off the line from inside one post I couldn't believe it, so I went and kicked off the line at the other post to prove it wasn't a fluke," he grinned.

McAvennie went on to stake his claim to a new contract with the Brockville club.

"I'm on a one month's contract at the moment which is about to run out.

I'd love to get a contract here."

The player has had interest from some Endsleigh League clubs in England but would rather stay in Scotland in the premier league if he can.

"I think I can still do a job here.

I like the way the club plays, the management want to play attractive football."

The impact McAvennie made at the weekend makes it hard for Jim Jefferies to ignore him.

"He scored six goals in a few reserve appearances.

I couldn't leave him out."

Jefferies has been looking for additional options up front.

Experiments using David Weir and John Clark didn't work out, so McAvennie might get the nod.

"He's got a wee eye for a goal.

It is that striker's instinct of being in the right place," said Jefferies.

Falkirk's win may have put their fine start to the season back on track.

It was certainly a blow for Hearts who took the lead with a fine John Robertson goal, but lost their way when Joe McLaughlin equalised three minutes later.

"The result was a travesty," Tommy McLean argued.

"We were always in control but lost the equaliser against the run of play then didn't capitalise on our pressure."

Taken from the Herald