Raith Healer
By Anthony Haggerty (Daily Record)
MARVIN ANDREWS' career came full circle yesterday when he signed for Raith Rovers for the second time.
The 30-year-old, freed by Rangers in the summer, returned to Stark's Park on a three-year deal and insisted he would have turned down Manchester United for the Second Division side because God wanted him in Kirkcaldy.
Andrews revealed he shunned a string of lucrative offers from the SPL and clubs in England to go back to the club where he played from 1997 to 2000, making 63 appearances and scoring five goals.
Andrews said: "I always said I would only go where God wanted me. If Manchester United came in for me and God did not want me to go there I would not have gone.
"There were so many clubs interested in me from England and Scotland that I lost count. But my life is not moved by money, I am only moved by what God says. I am back at Raith Rovers because God wanted me to be here."
The defender thanked the Rangers fans and management after two successful seasons in the SPL with the Govan side. He said: "I had a great time at Rangers.
"But God has told me I had fulfilled everything I was sent to Rangers to do and it is time to move on to the next chapter."
Boss Craig Levein revealed the role MP Gordon Brown, a well-known Rovers fan, played in helping to bring Andrews to the club.
He set up and accompanied Levein to a meeting last weekend with Andrews and Pastor Joe Nwokoye at the Zion Praise Centre in Kirkcaldy where the player is a minister and faith healer.
And Levein insisted it was only after the meeting that he dared hope Andrews would sign.
The deal was funded by cash from local businessmen on top of money Levein had left in his budget.
Levein said: "Marvin's willingness to buy into this project made the deal happen and I am still shocked that we have pulled it off.
"Marvin is a deeply-religious man and this deal appealed to him not just in a football sense but in other areas of his life as well.
"The players were asking on Monday night if Marvin was coming back and, like me, they are all gobsmacked that he has actually signed. The club has ambitions and a major part of this deal happening was Gordon Brown's input.
"He phoned and asked if he could help in any way and set up a meeting with Marvin, Pastor Joe and myself last Friday.
"I am grateful to Gordon for his help and I think his involvement showed Marvin and his people that we were deadly serious about what we are trying to achieve here."
Andrews said: "It was a pleasure and honour to meet and talk to Gordon as he is a very generous and honourable man."
The Trinidad and Tobago international's deal with Raith will run in conjunction with the Marvin Andrews Youth Development Trust which is being set up to pioneer youth and community work. Andrews said: "I am happy about this Trust Scheme being set up in Kirkcaldy and hopefully kids can get the chance to make something of their lives.
"Youths are going astray and being destroyed through drugs or alcohol and they have no person to look up to. This is a good opportunity for me to help the young try to come off drugs and alcohol and touch their lives.
"Maybe I can help them realise the talent that God has blessed them with and have an impact and let them realise their dreams and ambitions."
Andrews becomes Raith's fourth full-time player and is in line to make his debut against Morton a week on Saturday.
Andrews return delights Levein
By Craig Smith (The Courier)
RAITH ROVERS manager Craig Levein hailed yesterday’s sensational return of fans’ favourite Marvin Andrews to Stark’s Park as a “huge confidence boost” for the second division club.
The towering 30-year-old defender put pen to paper on a three-year contract, despite attracting interest from a number of top Scottish and English clubs since being released by Rangers in the summer.
Such is his long association with the Kirkcaldy club and its supporters, however, the devout Christian stressed that money was never a motivation in choosing his next move.
“I’m back here because God wants me to be here,” he maintained.
“My life is not moved by money and money doesn’t buy you happiness—I’m a footballer and this is the talent that God has blessed me with.
“I enjoyed it when I first played here but the difference now is that the club is in a bad situation...
“It’s such a big club with good history and things must get better—there’s a lot of work to be done.”
The three-year deal will be funded through a combination of the club’s budget and a consortium of local businesses, while it also emerged that Chancellor Gordon Brown had taken a hands-on approach to bringing Andrews back to Kirkcaldy.
Even so, manager Levein has still staged something of a coup by capturing the Trinidad and Tobago internationalist’s signature.
“The deal in itself actually came as a surprise to me,” said Levein.
“When his name was mentioned, we thought we could maybe get him playing again and get him back to full fitness but it became apparent that we could maybe sign him.
“I’ve got to put the whole thing down to Marvin’s willingness to buy into the whole project—he was waiting for something that appealed to him and not just in a football sense, but in other areas of his life as well.
“Up until August he was playing with Rangers and would turn up at Murray Park for work every day—on Monday night, he was running around Beveridge Park up to his knees in mud.
“Marvin isn’t here for the money—he feels it’s the right thing to do and he will give everyone a huge confidence boost, especially the young guys who will feed off his composure.
“But the fact he has turned down offers from England and Scotland sends a great message to the fans—this is a club on the up and a club that has ambitions.
“He’s an unusual guy, but maybe we should all be a bit more like him.”
Andrews quickly established himself as a cult hero with fans after joining from Carib FC in September 1997, making 63 league appearances and scoring five times in his time at Stark’s Park.
Rovers sold Andrews to Livingston for around £50,000 in September 2000, where he later picked up a Scottish League Cup medal in 2004.
Andrews then signed a two-year deal with Rangers but injured the cruciate ligament in his knee in his first season at Ibrox—an injury which threatened to curtail his career and keep him out for several months.
However, Andrews defied doctors by refusing surgery, instead choosing to rely on his faith to help him work through the problem.
On the subject of his fitness, Andrews said he hoped to be ready to make his debut against Morton on October 14, adding “I’m fine, I’m not worried about my knee and it doesn’t bother me —everything that happens to me is the will of God.
“I’m still capable and I keep strong—I might not be match fit as yet but things are getting better for Marvin Andrews.”
Levein said, “For any player who has had knee injuries in the past, it’s an issue to consider.
“But you have to weigh things up and we do have a level of protection in the contract, so I don’t think it’s a risk.”
Hibernian, Hearts, Motherwell and Dunfermline were just some of the clubs linked with Andrews, but it is thought that the location of his church—the Zion Praise Centre in Kirkcaldy—has also been a factor in his decision to return to Fife.
