ANDY Graham has revealed that Hearts kid Liam McFarlane was integral to Alloa Athletic’s impressive six game winning start to the season and expressed hope the goalkeeper will be at his very best once again in the Premier Sports Cup match with Rangers this weekend.
Alloa player-manager Graham was delighted when Derek McInnes agreed to allow McFarlane, the Scotland Under-21 player who was outstanding for East Fife throughout the 2024/25 campaign, to leave Tynecastle on loan once again this summer.
The centre-half has not been disappointed by the 6ft 5in 20-year-old – McFarlane has kept clean sheets in the League Cup group stage wins over Bonnyrigg Rose and Dundee as well as the League 1 triumph against East Fife.
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The player who helped the Bayview outfit win promotion through the play-offs last term has still to suffer a draw or a defeat this term and Graham is hopeful that he can continue his outstanding form in the second round Premier Sports Cup meeting with Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday evening.
“We managed to bring in big Liam from Hearts and he’s been excellent for us,” he said. “We're really thankful to Derek McInnes for getting him out to us because he's really been different class. Hopefully he continues that on Saturday.
“It’s a bit early to talk about whether he can play for Scotland. But he’s certainly got a bright future. He's in the under-21 squad and you can see why. He's been exemplary since he's come to us.
“Let’s be honest, he is pretty young to go into a first team isn’t he? But he did brilliantly last season and he has started this season well. It's just about him continuing that development as a goalkeeper.
“He was one that we’ve had our eye on for a good while. He's come in and he's been absolutely fantastic so far. Long may that continue. He'll have bumps in the road as a young player. It's about how he deals with them and responds to them. A young player’s development is all about responding to adversity.
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“But the coaching staff that we’ve got here will support him and ensure he’ll bounce back from any adversity and come through the other side of it. I hope that he continues his development here.”
Graham continued, “I think Derek rates him highly because he wanted him at a part-time club this season so he could have him in with him in the building training with Hearts during the week. That is the beauty of a part-time loan for the full-time clubs as well. Hearts hold him in high regard. And rightly so.
“Schedule wise, he’ll train with us on a Tuesday and a Thursday and play with us on a Saturday. Then he’ll be in with Hearts the rest of the week. He has the best of both worlds really.”
