Friday 26 July 2013

ARGYLE SIGN UP FORMER BHOY BLACKMAN

Well travelled left-back Andre Blackman has become John Sheridan's latest signing for Plymouth Argyle as he commits to the Pilgrims following his release by Celtic.

Blackman, 21, who made three appearances for Neil Lennon's Bhoys after arriving at Parkhea in 2011 has enjoyed a varied career to date.

As a schoolboy, he had spells with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur before he joined Portsmouth as a 16-year-old and later moved to Bristol City-where he started his professional career in 2009.

He made only two appearances for the Robins, both of which came in the Carling Cup, before his contract at Ashton Gate was terminated by the then City manager Gary Johnson.

The left-back's next port of call was AFC Wimbledon, who were then playing in the Conference, where he made a handful of appearances before being shown the door again.

However, in October 2011, Blackman was handed a life-line by Lennon who handed him a trial, which proved to be a success as he signed a permanent deal with Celtic a month later.

His debut for the Bhoys came on March 3rd 2012 against Aberdeen and he later thanked Lennon for saving his career.

Last season, he was loaned out to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, in a bid to gain more first team experience, but he returned to Parkhead three months early after making only two appearances.

He will now be looking to kick-start his career once again at Home Park and repay the faith shown in him by Sheridan as he looks to fill the void left by the departure of Onismor Bhasera.