Edinburgh City: ´A few of us had literally met an hour before kick-off ´, says new signing Michael Travis

Michael Travis was released by Forfar Athletic after playing more than 150 games and captaining the club

The defender played 90 minutes in last week's 2-2 draw with Elgin as a trialist but has since put pen to paper on a deal with City.

He was Forfar’s longest-serving player and former skipper, making 158 starting appearances in competitive fixtures for the club as well as 12 from the bench, and scoring 20 goals. But he missed the whole of last season through injury and, since making a full recovery, found it difficult to cement a regular place and was released by Forfar last week.

Travis netted a second-half equaliser to earn Gary Naysmith's side a share of the spoils, but Stenhousemuir's 2-1 victory at Albion Rovers 24 hours later saw City slip out of the play-off berths on goal difference.

Ahead of tomorrow's trip across the Forth to take on league leaders Kelty Hearts, the 28-year-old told the Evening News: "It was good to get a runout and also a nice feeling to score the equaliser.

“I have got goals in me as I showed at Forfar but it's not something I expect every week. But, as a defender, my main priority is keeping clean sheets.

“There were a few new faces in the starting XI last week so we weren't too disappointed with the draw – it was definitely a fair result.

“A few of us had literally met an hour before kick-off so it's something to build on.

“With the players that are still due to come back, the squad is beginning to look really strong again. I'm excited for the next few weeks and months.”

Travis was on City's books as a youth before being snapped up by Livingston.

“To see where the club is now is incredible," he said. "It's all very professional and with the chats I had with the manager, it made it an easy decision to sign.

“I've battled back from two serious knee injuries so it's good to be playing again.

“The boys at Forfar have done really well this year so it was always going to be difficult to get a look back in. I want to play, make up for lost time, so I'm looking forward to getting a run of games.

"The likes of Kelty are the games you want to be playing in. The next two league games (Kelty and Forfar) will go a long way to where we end up at the end of the season.”

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