New Dundee forward Steven Doris hopes he can repay the faith boss John Brown has shown in him by helping fire the Dark Blues back into the big time.
The 24-year-old is finally back in full-time football after spending the last four seasons plying his trade with Second Division Arbroath and put pen to paper on a deal which will keep him at Dens Park for the next two years.
It looked for a time that it might not happen for the former St Johnstone man, as links with firstly Birmingham in January and then St Mirren this summer failed to manifest themselves in a move.
However, now that Doris has been handed an opportunity to shine with Dundee, he intends to seize it with both hands.
“It’s been a long wait to come back to full-time football but I’m delighted John has given me the chance,” he told Courier Sport. “It’s been a good start so hopefully I can get my fitness up and get running for the start of the
season.
“I had a trial down at Birmingham and it went pretty well but nothing ever happened, so I was just hoping for something up here.”
Doris said: “I heard St Mirren were interested as well but nothing happened there either, but John’s obviously given me that chance and I just hope I can pay him back now.
“The manager is a big factor in me coming here. Just from talking to other players and hearing the kind of person he is suits me, and obviously the location suits me as well as it’s only 20 minutes down the road.
“It’s a lot better for myself and Dundee are a big club. I prefer to play up front and I think the manager prefers me to play up front as well, so if I get my chance when the season starts I want to go and take it.
“A two-year deal is obviously a bonus for me as well I would have given it my best shot even if it was a one-year but two years just gives me that extra security.
“But what I’ve heard from the manager, he thinks I can progress and hopefully I can do that.”
Previous manager Paul Sheerin at Arbroath has long suggested Doris could return to full-time football and Doris himself believes he is more than capable of playing a big part in Dundee’s promotion push this term.
He said: “It’s a good group of lads we’ve got here, it seems like a good bunch of lads and I think we all want to achieve promotion back to the SPL, so I’m looking forward to the season coming.”