New Queen of the South manager on signing blitz

Queen of the South have snapped up a clutch of players in a signing blitz ... and new boss Peter Murphy can’t wait to unleash them on his rivals.

Murphy has lured his former powerhouse midfielder Benji Luissint from old club Annan with Brennan Dickenson joining from Oldham after his loan spell at Hartlepool.

He also recruited another ex-Annan player Matty Douglas, plus Reece Lyon from Kelty Hearts - while also persuading Ben Johnstone to remain at Palmerston on another one-year contract.

Luissint cemented his place in Annan history by scoring two goals in the play-off final against Clyde to secure promotion for the first time for Galabankies and also scored the vital opener in a 1-1 draw at Stirling Albion on the final day of last season to keep them in League One.

Murphy said of signing Luissint, a former Queens player, on a two-year deal: “Benji had gone away from Queen of the South and honed his skills over a number of seasons.

“He has a drive to succeed and takes on board everything that is on offer. He has room to develop and will be a top player for Queen of the South. Benji has popped up with some important goals over the last couple of seasons and is not phased at the demands we place on him. We are looking forward to seeing how he progresses and pushes Queen of the South forward.”

Luissint first signed for South in the summer of 2019 on a recommendation from former goalkeeper Alan Martin. He joined on an amateur basis whilst training with Eddie Warwick’s reserves group and quickly became a regular at that level, had a successful loan spell at Gretna and eventually earned himself a seat on the first team bench a couple of times. Luissint had a brief spell at Brechin before signing for Gretna again