Airdrie legend Calum Gallagher opens up on exit after not meeting certain 'metrics' under Rhys McCabe

Calum Gallagher admits he had to leave Airdrie to prolong his career and revealed he fell out of favour with Diamonds boss Rhys McCabe because he wasn’t meeting certain ‘metrics’.

The club legend is preparing for a fresh start away from Airdrie this summer after agreeing a pre-contract with Arbroath in April - something which was announced by the Red Lichties earlier than expected and caught the Diamonds on the hop - and says he leaves New Broomfield with nothing but good memories.

Airdrie’s top goalscorer of the modern era, the striker was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame last month after a prolific five-year spell in which he netted 77 goals in 177 appearances and won the PFA League One Player of the Year in 2022/23.

However, all good things must come to an end and this season ‘Gal’ found himself warming the bench more than finding the back of the net, so that has sparked his decision to call time on his stint in Monklands.

“Leaving probably came into my thinking at the other side of Christmas,” explained the 29-year-old civil engineer, who was one of the last part-time players at the club after they introduced a hybrid model in 2019. "Obviously, my game time was greatly reduced from what it had been in previous years and I arrived at the point where I felt I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do.

“It is a short career and I am at an age where I need to make a decision about whether I am okay with being a bit-part player or if I still think I can contribute the way I had been doing in the last few years. And I arrived at the decision that I have more left to give. I want to make sure that I have the opportunity to do that.

“I had a chat with the manager and the owners at Airdrie. They were upset at the