POLLOK boss Rab Sneddon has made a sensational move for Beith midfield star Martin McGarvey.

And the Newlandsfield gaffer is willing to splash the cash for the 34-year-old international as the Super Premier champions bid to strengthen their squad for the title run-in.

However, the Lok chief's hopes of getting "Garvey" on board ahead of Saturday's Glasgow derby against Petershill can be rated no better than 50/50.

 That's because Beith boss Frank Lynch will attempt to persuade the man he claims to be the best midfielder in Junior football to stay with the Ayrshire club.

Lynchy said: "Noises had been heard suggesting Rab Sneddon was keen on signing Martin before Pollok made things official last weekend.

"We then thought it only fair to let Martin know of their interest, but his intimating a willingness to move on was definitely not what we wanted to hear.

"We talked things over at length without bringing about a change of heart so it was felt best to allow some breathing space for both parties and now the plan is for he and I to meet tonight.

"Hopefully our 10-year-long relationship might prove a telling factor in keeping him on board at Bellsdale, but should he insist on grasping this opportunity then the like-lihood is he will be leaving.

"I have never been one for holding on to unhappy players and it is not my intention to start doing so now."

With his own team sitting fourth in the Super Premier, Lynch is clearly unhappy about the timing of the signing swoop.

He fumed: "Nobody likes losing their top players at any time, but it is even harder to accept in mid-season when replacements are severely limited.

"We are under no illusions that Martin's departure would leave a massive hole to fill, so if Pollok think they can get him on the cheap then they are wasting both their time and ours.

"We will be demanding nothing less than the going rate."

Sneddon admitted targeting McGarvey will come as a surprise to Lok supporters even though it is an open secret that all has not been well in Pollok's engine room in recent outings.

The sight of strikers Bryan Dingwall and Davie Turnbull having to operate as makeshift midfielders is a far from satisfactory situation that has come about through a mini-crisis sidelining Mark Booth, David McGeown and Raymond Logan while Andy McLay is at least a month away from returning.

Even the prospect of Newlandsfield being tagged an Arthurlie old boys' home - McGarvey would become the seventh former Lynch signing on the books - is not stopping Sneddon from going after his man.

He said: "Who or where he played for before is of no consequence what-soever as I am only interested in whether he can improve us as a team and that is the criteria we adopt for every signing.

"It is no secret he turned us down once before, but it's fingers crossed that we will be lucky second time around."