Mehdi Taouil bound to sign on for season

Jul 2 2008 By Alex Milligan

AS the players prepare to start pre-season training on Monday, Standard Sport can break the news that Killie fans have been waiting to hear - Mehdi Taouil WILL be among those returning to Rugby Park.

Manager Jim Jefferies said that the Moroccan midfield magician had made a decision to stay in Ayrshire.

“Everything has been agreed,” said Jefferies, “and now it’s just a matter of Mehdi putting pen to paper and making it all official.”

The news that the 25-year-old is happy to pledge his immediate future to Killie is a major boost ahead of the new season.

The French-born player was an immediate hit with the fans and his variety of tricks has been a welcome addition to the SPL.

The future prospects of two other Killie ‘targets’ who have emerged in the last week are less clear.

Jefferies confirmed that the club had tabled an offer for Linfield striker Peter Thompson, or Pistol Pete as he’s known by the Irish Premier League side’s fans.

The 24-year-old has a prolific goalscoring record with 152 goals in 267 appearances. He’s also netted one goal in seven appearances for the Northern Ireland side.

Last season he netted 44 goals in 50 games, including both of Linfield’s goals in their 2-1 Irish Cup final win over Coleraine, a game which saw Linfield win the league and cup double for a third successive season.

Said Jefferies: “What they were looking for was beyond our means. We did make an enquiry and made an offer we could afford, but if it isn’t enough then we just have to get on with it.

“The lad, by all accounts, was very keen to come here, but we won’t be going back with an increased offer.”

The other player being linked with Killie is Craig Rocastle, a cousin of the late Arsenal and England midfielder David Rocastle.

A free agent after being released by Port Vale, the 26-year-old midfielder has also played for Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday and Oldham, as well as having loan spells with Barnsley, Lincoln City, Hibs, Yeovil and Gillingham.

“As far as Craig is concerned,” explained the Killie gaffer, “I was contacted by his agent to see if I would be interested in taking a look at him.

“I told him that I wasn’t looking for a midfielder at present as I had plenty cover in that area. I told him that my priority was in the striking department.

“I said I’d probably look at things again after the pre-season games and that if I felt that I needed to add to the midfield at that time I would get back in touch with him.

“He’s a decent player, but that isn’t my priority at the moment.”

Jefferies stressed that with the departure of Paul Di Giacomo and Gary Wales, at the end of a season during which he also lost Steven Naismith and Colin Nish, another striker was at the top of his wish list.

“We’ll keep looking and hopefully we'll get someone in before the season gets underway,” said the manager.

“A lot can happen in August before the transfer window closes, once the serious work starts ahead of the new season.

“I said a couple of weeks ago that I had one or two irons in the fire regarding young players with Premiership clubs in England, and that’s still the case.”

Jefferies said that he and assistant Billy Brown were looking forward to getting back to work on the training field on Monday.

“We’ll do a series of tests to gauge their fitness when they return,” he said, “so we’re in a position to know exactly what we need to do when we leave for Italy on Wednesday.

“They’re a good bunch of professionals and I’m sure they’ll all be in good condition when they report back on Monday.”

l FORMER Killie ground staff youngster Peter Logan looks set to follow in the footsteps of former kitman Manson Fowler, now with Norwich City.

The former youth goalkeeper had been assisting Manson for some time, so that has given him a head start over other potential candidates.

“As a former member of the ground staff,” explained Jefferies, “Peter was always willing to lend a hand and took pride in what he was doing.”