IT was a merry Christmas for both Berwick Rangers and Ross County as French midfielder Frank Escalon travelled north from one end of the country to the other for #20,000.

County manager Neale Cooper believes he has been gift-wrapped the kind of quality player that will boost his side's third division promotion ambitions, while Berwick counterpart Paul Smith views the deal done with his former Dunfermline team-mate as an unexpected present.

As Smith explained: ''Obviously I would have like to have a player as good as Frank in our team every week. But the fact is that his contract with us was up in five weeks' time and he would have been able to move wherever he wished. By transferring him now we have made money on the deal after signing him for nothing.

''We are in contact with another two French players and would like to bring them over under the same terms in the hope that we could pull off another deal similar to this.''

Cooper said: ''Frank is a very skilful player and will add class to our midfield. We are intent on gaining promotion and I see him as an important signing and an indication to our supporters of our ambition.''

Meanwhile, the team yet to win at home in the division, having scored only seven goals, Dumbarton, last night attempted to boost their scoring rate by signing striker Paddy Flannery from Morton.

Flannery said: ''Although I had a number of first-team games with Morton I have been in the reserves for the past couple of months and I could see that I was not in their plans. There was the possibility that I could move down south, but coming to Dumbarton suits me.''

Dumbarton manager Ian Wallace said: ''Paddy is a proven goalscorer in reserve football and we need someone who can finish off the chances we create.''

Dundee youngster Steven Milne is determined to make the best of his big chance after spending yesterday believing that all his Christmases had come at once. The 17-year-old from Forfar had scarcely recovered from the surprise of being recalled from Junior side Downfield last week to make his first-team debut for the first division leaders at Paisley when manager John McCormack offered him a full-time contract .

Milne said last night: ''The manager told me when I was called into the squad last Friday that he believed anyone who moved up from the YTS scheme to the first-team squad should be on a contract. When I was pulled back from Downfield last Friday, the best I hoped for at Paisley was a place on the bench, so it has been quite a week.''

The striker averaged a goal a game during spells with Downfield and Jeanfield Swifts this season and McCormack said: ''He took quite a bad knock early on in the game against St Mirren, but he did well at a place where it is never easy to make your debut.

''I am always pleased to bring through another young player and especially so in Steven's case, because I remember going to his home to sign him on an S-form a few years ago.''

Meanwhile, Jim McInally, a player at the opposite end of his career, has shown his dedication to the Dens Park cause by giving up part of his Christmas Day in a bid to be fit for tomorrow's clash with Falkirk by undergoing physiotherapy on a calf injury.

Another young player being tipped for the top is Partick Thistle central defender Alan Archibald, who is reported to have Aston Villa among the clubs monitoring his progress. The hard-tackling Archibald, who was 20 earlier this month, could yet bring in a welcome fee.

Manager John McVeigh said yesterday: ''Alan will make it to the top. He has come on leaps and bounds this season and it is to his credit that he has achieved that in the present circumstances.''

Meanwhile, Clydebank player-manager Ian McCall last night insisted he is not ready to hang up his boots, despite axing himself for the last couple of weeks as his team have surged to the top of the second division. In McCall's absence, on-loan striker Colin McDonald has been rattling in the goals and Charlie Adams, signed from Partick, got a debut goal against Stranraer last week.

However, 32-year-old McCall will be back in the pool for tomorrow's game against Clyde.