Arthurlie have confirmed that highly-rated centre-back Tony Etherson will remain with the club next season.

Etherson joined the Dunterlie Park side last year in Duncan Sinclair’s summer revolution following Lie’s relegation from the-then West of Scotland Super League.

The youngster struggled to settle in at the beginning of the season but has since flourished in a unnatural right-back position to help Sinclair’s side move up to third place in the West Region Championship.

The club have tied Etherson down until 2020 with boss Sinclair revealing he will be the first of many to sign up for next season.

Sinclair said: “Tony came in right at the beginning of last summer and did really well. He got a wee injury then went away on holiday and struggled after that. We had a word with him about his game and changed his training to help him improve. To be fair to him, he’s been outstanding in the last three or four months. I’m delighted to get him tied down for the rest of this season and, more importantly, for next season. 

“I’m hoping he can take his recent form right into next season. He’s a great communicator on the pitch and organises everyone at the back. He’s a centre-back but we’ve asked him to cover at right-back for the last few weeks and he’s been fantastic. His distribution and reading of the game is incredible as well as his deliveries into the box. I’m over the moon to get him tied down, we’re now looking good to sign up a few more boys for the next season.

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“There’s a long way to go in this campaign but we now need to look at next season’s squad. There’s nothing guaranteed in football, so we need to make sure we get players who are committed to the club.”