Stirling Albion complete swoop for ex-Arbroath keeper as summer exodus continues

The first new arrival of the summer has signed on the dotted line at Forthbank as Stirling Albion rebuild for their League Two campaign.

Experienced keeper Derek Gaston will take the gloves for the Binos next season after signing a one-year deal with the club following the expiry of his contract at Arbroath.

The 37-year-old made 29 appearances for the Red Lichties last season as they dropped out of the Championship and will offer some vital continuity to an Albion pre-season which has been characterised by big departures so far.

Gaston has racked up more than 450 appearances in his career – making his professional debut in 2009 for Albion Rovers where he played for three seasons before moving on to Morton.

The gloveman became a big favourite for the Ton in his seven-year stint before moving to the Angus club in 2019. He will fill a much-needed vacancy between the sticks, with both keepers from last season gone – Blair Currie moving to Cumnock Juniors while Mark Weir has been released.

Another departure is striker Greig Spence, who departs after scoring four times for Stirling last season.

In a message on X, Spence wrote: “Just a small message to say thanks to everyone at Stirling Albion for the last 18 months. Especially the gaffer, staff and all the players, it was such a enjoyable period of my career.

“Winning the league then Albufeira will stay with me forever”.

Binos skipper Paul McLean has also left Stirling for pastures new, taking up a player-coach position with Lowland League outfit Cowdenbeath. McLean was a stalwart at the back for Albion last season, racking up 36 league appearances for the club.

The 34-year-old made 130 appearances during his stint with the Binos, scoring 13 times, with the highlight being