New Dundee signing Simon Ferry has expressed his relief at being back in his home city after his spell at Portsmouth was blighted by two break-ins in the space of just a fortnight.
The midfielder’s wife Steph was pregnant with their second child at the time towards the end of last season when thieves targeted their flat in Southsea.
That was the final straw as far as Ferry was concerned and the former Celtic and Swindon player is just delighted to be back in the City of Discovery again.
The 26-year-old said: “I got burgled twice. My missus was pregnant so it was a very scary time. She was scared during away games when I wasn’t there which is only understandable.
“It happened twice in two weeks and the police thought I was targeted. It was a horrible feeling. They both happened when I was away from home.
“The place basically got robbed but thankfully Steph wasn’t in the house at the time. But it was just the fact that people were in your house raking through your kid’s stuff.
“In the end, I just wanted to get back up the road for her. Steph was having a hard time during the pregnancy. She wasn’t feeling too well and was just scunnered with what was happening.
“She felt too far away and isolated so when this chance came about, it was the right timing. And my wife gave birth to our wee baby boy, Jude, five days ago which is a great feeling. We have another wee boy, Frankie, so everything is much happier now.
“It’s all right when you are young and away from home but when you get family, it’s much harder for your mum and dad to see the kids so being back had worked out well.”
Portsmouth boss Andy Awford was keen to keep Ferry at Portsmouth but the player was determined to head for home once Dundee boss Paul Hartley expressed his interest in bringing him to Dens.
Ferry said: “I’m delighted to be here. When the chance came to move back to Dundee, I jumped at it straight away.
“I needed no convincing. My grandfather, Bill, died a few weeks ago and it just feels as though I was meant to come back. I asked for my release from Portsmouth and everything just fell into place.
“They were quite keen to keep me but when the manager here made contact with me there was no question I wanted to come here. Now I have a great chance to play with Dundee in the Premiership which I’m relishing.”
He added: “I’ve been travelling in and out of a suitcase for the past five or six years which can be unsettling.
“So when I saw Paul got the Dundee job, I thought I’d love to come back. I obviously knew him from Celtic.
“I was kind of hoping he would get in touch with me and thankfully he did. When I met him, everything was spot on.
“I thought he did really well at Alloa and then to get Dundee promoted speaks volumes for him.”
When Ferry was at Swindon, he worked under manager Paulo Di Canio. And while he admitted that was a “mental” experience, the midfielder insists the Italian was a top boss.
Ferry said: “I loved working with him. He was mental but gets the whole club going.
“Seriously, though he gets you as fit as anything. Not everyone likes him but that’s just the way he is. He wants 100% from you and he gives that as well.
“I think when he left we were top of League One and ended up finishing fifth. That just shows you the job he did.
“I have a lot of respect for him and think he’s a good manager.”