FORMER Pars defender Lewis Martin could be set for a move to Kelty Hearts.

New Central Park boss John Potter told Press Sport he was ready to hold talks with the 26-year-old over the weekend after he impressed in their first pre-season friendly on Friday night.

Versatile defender Martin, who has been training with the newly-promoted League Two champions, played the full 90 minutes as a trialist during their 1-0 defeat to Partick Thistle.

He played at both right back and centre back during the game and Potter, who knows Martin well from their time together with Dunfermline, confirmed his interest post-match.

"Lewis has trained with us and he played tonight. He did well," he explained.

"I know what Lewis is like. It's just getting him back out on the pitch, training with us, and we'll get a chat with him over the next few days.

"Lewis is a good player. I've known him a long time and it's just making sure he's fit, and getting him with us. He's enjoyed it, he's trained well, played well tonight, and we'll get a chat with him over the weekend."

Martin, who had been Athletic's longest-serving player prior to his departure following their relegation to League One, became a key player under the management of Jim Jefferies, Potter, Allan Johnston and Stevie Crawford since making his top team bow at Greenock Morton in April 2013.

Although he played 171 times for the Pars, his time at East End was hit by injury issues, which included him missing all but the final two games of the 2018/19 season.

Martin did recover to play 33 games in the following season, which was curtailed by COVID-19, but a health issue saw him miss the entirety of the following campaign.

He continued to train with the club, by which time Peter Grant had replaced Crawford, and penned a contract until the end of the season in January, having returned to the matchday squad for the New Year derby at Raith Rovers.

Martin featured seven times from then, under John Hughes’ management, with his last game coming in the second leg of the play-off defeat to Queen’s Park.

When asked about the player's fitness, Potter replied: "It's good. He's fitted in with us no problem at all. He's trained the four sessions that we've done, got a full 90 minutes tonight and looked strong as well.

"He's one that I know and one I like, so we'll see what happens there.

"I'd be keen to try and bring him into the squad, so we'll see what happens."

Friday's match was a useful workout for Potter's team, who more than matched Championship Thistle for much of it, in the first half particularly.

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Jamie Barjonas and Kallum Higginbotham had decent attempts saved by David Mitchell but, as the second half saw both sides make plenty of changes, the Jags won it when James Lyon finished from around six yards after excellent work from Ben Stanaway to set him up.

When asked if he enjoyed what he saw, Potter, pictured above (photo, Jim Payne), said: "I did yeah.

"Obviously, disappointed to lose 1-0. I didn't think there was that much in the game, against a strong team, and I thought we did alright. We did ok.

"We can be better with the ball, which we will be, but, in the main, I thought our shape was good, our work off the ball was good, but we've just got to have that little bit more quality on the ball.

"We had a couple of opportunities, they had a couple of opportunities as well, but it was pretty open. It was strange going in (at half-time) at nothing each, because there was chances in the game, and the second half probably never really got going.

"Obviously there were a lot of subs, from both teams, which changes it a little bit, but in the main, it was positive. We got what we needed out of the game.

"We got a lot of boys minutes on the pitch. Some guys, we had to look after them a little bit. We've still got injuries to our bigger players, so we'll get there.

"It was important tonight that there was no injuries, good fitness on the pitch, and getting the boys out there playing football again."

Meanwhile, Dunfermline opened their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 win at Cove Rangers.

The game - Athletic's first-ever visit to the Balmoral Stadium - was a testimonial for home keeper, Stuart McKenzie (below, photos, Craig Brown), and was former Pars boss Jim McIntyre's first match in charge.

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New signings Kyle Benedictus, who captained the side, and Chris Hamilton made their debuts for James McPake's side, who took the lead just after the half hour thanks to Lewis McCann's header.

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Lewis McCann scores Dunfermline's first.

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Kevin O'Hara (above), with 10 minutes to go, made the game safe for the visitors, and McPake said: "That is what pre season is all about.

"It is very early, the first game was a bounce game but this was a great run out, good for people like Rhys Breen and Deniz Mehmet to get 90 minutes.

"There was a lot of good stuff on show and it was a decent enough game in troubling conditions with the wind and the pitch being dry.

"It is the same for both teams but we are going to face tricky conditions in the league and we need to learn to deal with that. I’m really pleased with the boys and the effort they put in."

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday, with Dunfermline visiting Forfar Athletic, and Kelty travelling to play Glenrothes.