News

The club is delighted to announce the signing of striker Kyle Connell as Paul Hartley begins his summer rebuild for next season’s League One campaign.

Twenty-one year old Kyle came through the youth ranks at Motherwell and Blackburn Rovers before joining Kilmarnock, where he made his debut in January 2020. The following year he netted a dramatic late equaliser for the Ayrshire side in a League Cup tie against Morton.

In between times, he had a productive loan spell with Airdrieonians, scoring six times in eleven starts, and would later enjoy a similarly successful season with East Fife. It was during that campaign that he caught the eye of the Cove Rangers manager when he found the net in two of the sides’ meetings:

“He came on to our radar during those spells with Airdrie and East Fife, and I’ve kept an eye on him since.

“Kyle’s hungry, he’s raring to go, and being able to remain full-time was a big draw for him. He’s a good age – that’s the profile we’ll be looking at with our new signings – and I’ve got no doubt he will score goals for us.

“He gives us a good option at the top end of the pitch and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

In 2022-23, Kyle netted two Championship goals in the first half of the season with Raith Rovers, and also had a fruitful period at East Kilbride where he contributed six goals to their Lowland League campaign, including a twenty-minute hat-trick against Dalbeattie Star.

Now he feels the time is right to launch his career in the north-east:

“I’ve played against Cove a number of times and always liked how they played football, I think that style will suit me, and I’m keen to get started.

“The fact the club is now going full-time was important, and I’m at a stage in my career where I’m looking forward to getting a good run of games and hopefully scoring plenty goals.

“I know a number of the guys from playing against them, and I know there will be more new faces coming in. It’s an exciting time for the club and I’m happy to be a part of that. I’ll work hard, we all will, and the aim will be to be pushing towards the top of the league and get promoted again.”

Kyle has picked up experience at a number of clubs at different levels in the game, and he believes that has been important for his development:

“Definitely, that helps you grow as a player and as a person, and I’ve been able to watch different types of coaches, and people generally, and been able to tap into that, which has been a big thing for me.

“Now I can’t wait to get started working with the manager and the rest of the players, and to do what I can to bring success to Cove Rangers.”

Kyle has signed a two-year full-time contract and will join his team-mates when pre-season training starts in mid-June .

Article Copyright © 2023. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and to www.coverangersfc.com

Luke Strachan Puts Pen To Paper »