Devotion to the supporters and set-up at Dens Park has convinced defender Gary Irvine to sign a new deal at Dundee, the player has confirmed.
The 27-year-old full-back, who was named last season’s player of the year, has ended weeks of uncertainty by putting pen to paper on a new contract after training with the squad on Tuesday, despite the apparent lure of a more lucrative deal elsewhere.
”It’s good to get things sorted and get back into training,” Irvine said. ”I’m just looking forward to adding to the good start I had personally on the playing side to 2012.
”It was good to get appreciated by the fans with the player of the year award and I just want to kick on for them and see where that takes us, in whichever league we’re in. I’m just looking forward to doing a job and giving my all.”
Dens Park boss Barry Smith is delighted the issue has finally been sorted out but hinted he had been quietly confident of getting his man, given Irvine’s apparent love for the club.
”It’s taken a while for him to make up his mind but, throughout, he’s repeatedly said to me how much he loves it here and how great the fans have been,” said Smith.
”In the end he has decided he doesn’t want to leave them, but I know for a fact that he could have been earning much more money elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, Smith confirmed striker Carl Finnigan is making good progress as he battles back from the cartilage injury that curtailed his spell at Dens Park last season.
The 25-year-old Englishman impressed the Dark Blues manager on loan last season but Finnigan told Courier Sport last month that he felt he had ”unfinished business” with Dundee after his season was ended abruptly through injury.
Finnigan, who joined Dundee on a permanent deal on June 1, netted three goals in five games before suffering the knee problem which required surgery, but Smith has confirmed the forward is on the road to recovery.
”Carl’s doing his rehab from his previous injury that happened here and he’s got a different programme from the rest of the boys,” Smith said. ”He’s seen a specialist and his knee is fine but he’s on a different programme to get him up to speed.”
Most of the squad have trained together since pre-season preparations began on Thursday, although striker Steven Milne has been forced to sit out the start of training after having his appendix out.