Dundee captain Gary Harkins has agreed to join Kilmarnock, honouring an agreement they struck with the former Partick Thistle man during the dark days of administration.
Following discussions at the time with chief executive Harry MacLean, Harkins, who had a year left on his contract, was persuaded to stay to help Dundee avoid relegation. In exchange, if an SPL club moved for him, Dundee would not be difficult to deal with.
“Gary Harkins will be joining Kilmarnock,” MacLean said. “I am just finishing the paperwork now and Gary will be going for an undisclosed fee.
“We had an agreement in place with Gary that if an SPL club came in for him post-administration, we would let him join them as long as they met certain conditions.”
“When we first entered administration, the administrator Bryan Jackson wanted Gary to leave the club and he also wanted to pursue his SPL ambitions.
“The terms of Gary joining the club two years ago have changed considerably. However, we sat down with Gary and, after discussions, came to the agreement.
“We persuaded him to stay and help us in our survival bid. If an SPL club then came in for him, we would let him go. We have now honoured that agreement.
“Gary was a fantastic player and captain for us last season and helped us stay in the first division.”
While disappointed he has left, the club understood his desire to play in the SPL and he left with the best wishes of everyone at Dundee.