BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Brechin City manager Darren Dods has hailed the camaraderie within the Glebe Park dressing room after players and staff chipped in to fund knee surgery for stricken Ross Perry.
The 25-year-old suffered cruciate ligament damage in a 3-1 defeat against Airdrie at the end of November, leaving the former Rangers defender requiring a £4000 operation.
With City toiling to meet that fee, club captain Craig Molloy called a squad meeting to suggest that they donate their next win bonus to Perry, allowing him to go under the knife.
They subsequently claimed a 2-1 victory over Stranraer in December and, with Perry covering the excess from his own pocket, the ex-Scotland under-21 international will undergo the op this month.
Dods told Capital City Press: “It’s a good gesture from the lads. Craig [Molloy] got us together and we decided that everyone would contribute and donate our next win bonus to getting Ross Perry, to make sure he got the procedure.
“Ross has been in since last summer and has got on really well with the players, he has been phenomenal in the dressing room and has been a pleasure to have the club.
“That’s why the boys and the staff were so keen to contribute, he’s a really popular player.
“That sums up the spirit we’ve got in the changing room. It’s a good group and, although the results have not been what we would have liked in the first half of the season, we have stuck together and never let our heads drop.”
The gesture is made all the more impressive due to the fact Perry will be out of contract at the end of this season, at which point his contract with Brechin expires – meaning he may never play for the club again anyway.
Dods added: “Even at full-time clubs, if a player is in the last few months of their deal, they might say ‘no, we can’t pay for that’. That is a challenge for most teams, financially.
“When these things happen, everyone is acutely aware that it’s a lot of money for a part-time club to pay the full bill.
“But there was a feeling from all the players that one day they could be in the same position and they would want their teammates to help. That’s what we’ve been able to do.”
