By Lewis Anderson
When it comes to searching for a new club, Graham Gracie prioritises one thing – an exciting project he can be part of. It’s for that very reason the 33-year-old has put pen to paper on a one-year deal with Bellshill Athletic from local West of Scotland rivals Lanark United. Gracie had a number of different offers to consider over the summer, including a crack at League One football with newly-promoted Lanark or as part of a squad overhaul taking place at Lesmahagow. However, the towering striker opted for a move to the Rockburn after being convinced the club’s long-term plans, both on an off the pitch, are something he was desperate to contribute towards over the next 12 months. Asked about his decision to leave Lanark after spending the last couple of seasons at Moor Park, Gracie told GlasgowWorld: “I enjoyed my time there. My decision could potentially have been a bit more difficult if the way things worked out with delayed promotion had worked out differently. “The irony that Lanark have now went up because Broomhill went out of the game… It’s always a difficult decision when you’re getting to the end of a season and you know that other teams are interested. It’s never been something I’ve enjoyed, to be honest. “Sometimes you get contacted by different clubs and they’re all giving you a similar pitch to each other. I think that can make it more difficult because then it really does become a difficult decision to weigh up. “I had the chance to stay at Lanark or move on to Lesmahagow with Daryl (Meikle), who was previously the manager at Lanark and had a plan in mind to bring a certain amount of the boys at Lanark with him to the Gow. I knew exactly what I’d be getting there, but after I spoke to Johnny (Fallon) that same day actually, I was on board really quickly to be fair.” Opening up on his discussions with boss Fallon, Gracie continued: “We had a lengthy chat a few weeks ago and the picture that he painted, the vision they’ve got for the club, both on and off the park, moving forward is something that’s always been of interest me. “I enjoy being part of a long-term project, I’ve part of that at all of my previous teams. It’s never just been a case of, ‘do you want to go and play there? Yes or no?’ I need to consider whether the style of football that they like go play would suit me. There’s so many other things that I take into consideration. “And the project being laid out here excites me because bringing new players in and having a good blend of youth and experience is probably one of the most important things about building a decent squad. “If you bring in loads of guys that have got plenty of experience, loads of quality and they’re all at the same age, then you know you’re maybe not necessarily going to get the best out of them and allow you to develop younger players. They’ve got a great pathway already in place here with the academy and the Under-20s. “Whereas if you’ve got a good balance, a good mix of youth and experience, I think it’s massive for the younger boys as well that you can hopefully pass on some of the quality and experience that you’ve got to them and bring them on a bit as well.” The Blackwood native, who netted 16 times for Lanark last term, has promised one thing to Bellshill’s loyal band of supporters. “Initially, I would say lots of goals,” Gracie commented when quizzed on what he can bring specifically to the club. “As a striker, that’s the be all and end all. You need to win games of football by scoring goals and that’s what I’ve always prided myself on. “I don’t think it would be disrespectful to any other player either at the club or at every other club, but the target is you always want to finish top scorer. I want to create as many goals as I can for my teammates as well because I feel I’ve added that side to my game over the last few years. I got a decent amount of assists last year so I would love to create goals for people. “I know Kieron (Markey) is still young and up and coming as well. He got into double figures last season and I think the target is, along with him and some of the other younger boys, to try and add another element to their game that they maybe didn’t think they had or that they didn’t even know they could add. Hopefully it’s something I can help to pass on purely based on the experiences and career that I’ve had so far.” While Gracie is more than happy to shoulder greater responsibility as one of the leaders in the new-look Bellshill dressing room, he admits the main goal for next season is simple. “I think so’” he replied when asked if the current squad assembled by Fallon and his backroom team are capable of mounting a WoSFL League Two title challenge. “Obviously, there are some teams that have come down for the league above that seem to have strengthened really well so it’ll be interesting to see how they get on. And there’s also a couple of really strong teams coming up from the third division that I’ve played against previously and know have got a lot of quality, a lot of young players that again will be better for a full year of games under their belts at this level. “It will make for a tough, competitive season, but I think with the blend we’ve got in the changing room right now seems to be there. I don’t see any reason why we can’t go and challenge at the top end. “Certainly, I don’t look at any individual games and think we should be fearing anyone. It’s a cliche but you need to take it one game at a time. But I feel there’s definitely a target in mind to be as high up the league as possible. “If not, hopefully when it comes April, May time next year that we’re in the mix to be challenging for a wee bit of silverware, that would be lovely. “The main target for almost every club is you want to get promotion but obviously the fact that there’s so many teams are going up now, I feel like there’s a little added incentive to realistically say ‘can we go a step further than that and compete for silverware’.”