Defender Scott Mercer thrilled to join FC Edinburgh after a year in the making

Scott Mercer admits he has been keeping a close eye on FC Edinburgh's rise up the League One standings.

The 27-year-old defender, who signed an 18-month deal with the Capital outfit earlier this week, revealed he had been aware of the Citizens' interest since the beginning of last year when then Edinburgh manager Gary Naysmith sounded him out over a potential move.

And although a switch failed to transpire during 2022, Mercer can't wait to finally pull on the white jersey under the stewardship of Alan Maybury away to Queen of the South this weekend.

"It was actually Gary Naysmith who first made contact when he was in charge so it's always something that's been there," Mercer explained. "But I was under contract at East Fife so it was over my head really. Last summer East Fife were relegated so I was really just focusing on them. But I did look out for their results when the interest first came up. I always check my previous clubs' scores on a Saturday, but I did start to look out for Edinburgh, too.

Edinburgh boss Alan Maybury and Scott Mercer. Picture: Tommy Lee.

"Then the interest picked up again and here I am. I only had six months left on my deal so I was free to speak to other clubs. I was worried that there wasn't much talk of anything at East Fife beyond the summer so sometimes you have to look after yourself.

But I had a good chat with the gaffer Greig McDonald there before I trained with Edinburgh on Tuesday and we've left on good terms so there's no resentment or anything like that.

"I really like the way the club are heading. The whole model in place is really impressive. The way they play football really suits me, they want to be on the front foot. It's a step up but one I am looking forward to.

"Training was great on Tuesday, straight into the way of things so it's good that way as I always think it breaks down walls.

"The gaffer mentioned that the results against Queen of the South haven't been great so we'll be looking to rectify that this weekend. I'm just hoping I'm involved. Palmerston has always been a tough place to go and when I was there our home form was always great."