Gavin Rae admits his emotions were all over the place last month when his Aberdeen side ended Dundee’s brave bid to avoid relegation.
Now, having signed for a third time with the Dark Blues, he is determined to help the club bounce straight back up to the SPL.
Rae began his career at Dundee and spent eight years at Dens before being snapped up by Rangers.
He then joined Cardiff City before eventually linking up again with Dundee for a short spell in October 2011 before Craig Brown lured him to his home town club Aberdeen.
When Rae was told at the end of last season by new Dons boss Derek McInnes that his contract would not be renewed, Dundee manager John Brown moved quickly to persuade the 35-year-old to come back to the Dark Blues.
The former Scotland midfielder will now combine playing with a coaching role and he could not hide his delight at returning to the club where it all began for him.
He said: “I am chuffed to be back and to have my future sorted out. Some players come back to a club twice but there are not many who do it three times!
“But I can’t wait to get started again.”
He added: “There were mixed emotions when I was here recently with Aberdeen and it was a strange old day. Obviously, I was playing against a club that I have been at and have a real affinity with.
“It was just unfortunate that was the day they went down. But that’s football and you have to be professional about it. So hopefully I can now help Dundee get straight back up again.
“I suppose it has come full circle for me. I came here straight from school and had a lot of happy years here before moving on.
“I came back briefly, then got a move home to Aberdeen and now I am back at Dens again.
“It has been a great club to me and I am more than happy to be back. If I was to finish helping them get back up, it really would be a dream ending for me.”
Rae knows his new gaffer well from when they were at Rangers together and he believes that “Bomber” still has the same dogged will to win that he displayed as a player.
That was something which convinced him to return to Dens along with the chance to combine playing with coaching.
Rae said: “Bomber is certainly a winner. He proved that throughout his playing career and you can tell he is really hungry to be a winning manager. It is great to have that.
“The coaching aspect was another appeal of coming back here. I have been doing my courses over the last few years and I have just finished my ‘A’ licence assessment, spending six days down at Largs.
“Hopefully, that has gone well and coaching will possibly be the next path.”
Meanwhile, Brown expressed his delight at signing Rae as he rebuilds his squad for Dundee’s promotion push.
He said: “Gavin is a great professional. He leads by example which is what I want at Dundee. I’m sure he’ll be a good signing and bring out the best in others around him.
“His attitude is spot-on and, as everyone knows, he can play a bit too.”
Meanwhile, Maurice Kidd tendered his resignation as both a Dundee FC director and Dundee FC Supporters’ Society board member.
Photo by David Young