Ross Allum explains why he couldn’t turn down move to Linlithgow Rose

When Linlithgow Rose came calling for his services, Ross Allum felt they were too big a club to turn down and he is relishing being part of an ultra-competitive East of Scotland Premier Division.

Ross Allum spent last season with East Stirlingshire. Pic: SNS

Former Edinburgh City striker Allum opted to drop down from the Lowland League to join the Prestonfield club having spent last season with East Stirlingshire, who have invested significantly in their playing squad following funding from overseas.

The 30-year-old got off to the perfect start as he bagged a debut goal last weekend in their 4-2 victory over West Lothian rivals Blackburn United and followed that up with another strike in their midweek win over Sauchie.

“I’ve known about Linlithgow, they are a massive club and being from South Queensferry I know probably more about them than others,” said Allum. “The Shire had clearly outlined they were going to go down a different route this year with their money investment and creating a reserve team. It was something I considered and it didn’t suit me. It wasn’t something at the stage of my career that I thought would be a good move.

“They offered me a new deal and it was a good one, but it just wasn’t for me. I felt like a change was needed, albeit I had only been there a year, and I would love to have stayed, but I just felt it was the right thing to do. When a club like Linlithgow came in, it was a no-brainier for me.

“The club would probably agree that they’ve under-achieved recently and the last year especially. I think they would have loved to have won the league and got promoted like Bonnyrigg have done, but it wasn’t to be. The incentive of it being a fresh challenge and a big challenge to get promoted in a really hard league appealed to me. Every point is massive and every game is massive regardless of who is playing, it just adds to the overall excitement.”

Rose host one of the other clubs who will expect to complete at the top end of the table in Whitehill Welfare tomorrow. The visitors, who drew 3-3 at Tranent on Wednesday night, will need to keep check on not only Allum, but Tommy Coyne and Colin Strickland, with Allum already loving playing alongside them both.

He continued: “I don’t need to say much about Tommy. He scores goals for fun and his record speaks for itself – he’s a legend. You’ve also got Colin Strickland, who is brilliant, he’s another experienced player who can score goals. It gives the gaffer plenty of options going forward.”