Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New Dundee keeper Jon McCracken can become Scotland’s No.1 insists Dens boss Tony Docherty

McCracken has penned a permanent deal with the Dark Blues after two successful loan spells.

Jon McCracken.
Jon McCracken is in the Scotland squad. Image: Rob Casey/SNS

New Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken has what it takes to become a Scotland regular.

That’s the view of Dark Blues manager Tony Docherty, who has secured the permanent return of the two-time Dens loanee after his exit from Norwich City.

McCracken impressed the Dundee boss and fans alike across two temporary spells last season, racking up 15 appearances in competition with Trevor Carson, Adam Legzdins and Harry Sharp.

The 24-year-old has penned a two-year contract with the Dee and, in what is surely a symbolically significant move, has been handed the No.1 jersey for the campaign ahead.

Dundee's Jon McCracken dominates his area against Rangers last season.
Dundee’s Jon McCracken dominates his area against Rangers last season. Image: SNS

It represents his manager’s belief that he can command a regular start at club level.

But Docherty is confident the Scots stopper can go one better and play himself into the national squad.

Asked if McCracken has a chance of recognition, the Dark Blues boss said: “I think he does and he thinks he does.

“It is okay me sitting here and saying that but Jon has huge ambition. The most important thing is he thinks he can.

“He has a taste of it. He has worked with a lot of boys and is close to Kenny McLean and Grant Hanley and he has huge ambition.”

Scotland star Kenny McLean, pictured with national team boss Steve Clarke, is close to new Dundee keeper McCracken.
Scotland star Kenny McLean, pictured with national team boss Steve Clarke, is close to new Dundee keeper McCracken. Image: PA

Docherty added: “I am delighted to secure the signing of Jon because he did have a lot of suitors.

“What Jon brings, you saw his performances last year at the tail end of the season.

“His playing out from the back is outstanding, his kicking and distribution is also good and he is a good goalkeeper.

Jon has huge ambition and it matches mine.

“It gives me, as I want all over the squad, really healthy competition.

“I also have Trevor Carson who is a fantastic goalkeeper, which is good. It is good competition.”

McCracken was the first of two Friday signings at Dundee, with former Aberdeen defender Clark Robertson also committing to the Dark Blues.

Dee fans have had to be patient on the transfer front up to now.

Dundee summer signing Clark Robertson.
Dundee summer signing Clark Robertson. Image: David Young

But Docherty insists a huge amount of work has been going on in the background – and will continue as he tools up for the new season.

“Everybody wants to see signings,” he accepted.

“It is important we are professional and it is a process. You have to do your due diligence because you are not just signing a player. You are bringing individuals.

“A club like us, where we have limited space to bring in, then you need to make sure they are the right type.

“There are more imminent arrivals.

“The players came back on Wednesday. The first [Premier Sports Cup] game is on July 13.

“We have a busy pre-season schedule where we are going to Poland.

“Everybody would love to have everybody in on day one but it doesn’t happen like that, particularly, when you look at how early we start compared to England.

“We will continue the process that has worked for us.”

Conversation