Lawrence Shankland is hoping to end his “really strong season” by helping Scotland take another big stride towards Euro 2024.

The 27-year-old has enjoyed arguably the best campaign of his career as he scored 28 goals and earned the captaincy in his first year at Hearts, whom he joined last summer from Belgian club Beerschot.

Shankland’s form at Tynecastle earned him a first Scotland cap for two and a half years in the victory over Spain in March, and he has retained his place in the squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers away to Norway and at home to Georgia.

“When you get to the end of a season you get the chance to look back and assess it,” Shankland told the Scottish Football Association.

“For me, it was a really strong season. My performances throughout the season were to a really high standard and I was really happy with them.

“The number of goals I managed to chip in with was great. It was my first season at Hearts as well so it was good to get off to a good start. The captaincy was an opportunity that I probably didn’t expect when I first went to Hearts but when it was offered to me I was keen to take on that role.

“I felt it was something that would improve my all-round game, improve me as a person, and I felt I took it in my stride and handled it really well. It’s been a huge learning opportunity for me and hopefully it stands me in good stead for the future.”

Shankland has won five Scotland caps but he admits such a scenario would have been a pipe dream when he found himself without a club and pondering getting a job away from football when he was released by Aberdeen in 2017. He eventually joined Ayr and set about rebuilding his career.

“There’s been a lot of rejections along the way but it comes down to hard work and determination really,” he said, reflecting on his rise. “You have your end goals and what you want to achieve in your career.

“There have been times when I couldn’t have dreamed of getting a Scotland cap. But you just need to knuckle down and if you keep working hard, things pay off and you get these opportunities.

“I’ve taken most of them first time and did well at most of the clubs I’ve been at. It has been a bit of an up-and-down journey but I’ve worked hard and I feel like I deserve what’s come my way.”

The Scotland squad are currently at a training camp in Spain gearing up for their showdown with Norway in Oslo a week on Saturday.

Steve Clarke’s side sit top of their qualifying section after winning their opening two matches and know that a good share of points from their two outings this month will leave them firmly on course for the finals in Germany next summer.

“It’s been good to meet up and get everybody back together,” said Shankland.

“The wee break in between (the end of the club season) gives us a bit of time to do a training camp and I think that’s important for us before we go into the game week next week.

“The training’s been good and the weather’s been nice. The last two games we had really good results and we’ve given ourselves a really good opportunity going into these two games. If we get positive results we could be in a really good position.”

Alex Iacovitti has thanked Ross County for “an incredible three years” after his departure from the Staggies was confirmed.

The 25-year-old former Scotland Under-21 defender moved to the Highlands from Oldham in 2020 and made 116 games appearances for the Dingwall club, scoring 12 goals.

Iacovitti is leaving County, who survived in the cinch Premiership following a dramatic play-off victory over Partick Thistle, under freedom of contract.

“Firstly I’d like to place on record my thank you for an incredible three years at the club,” he said in a statement on the Staggies’ website. “I’ve loved my time in the Highlands and was happy to call it home for this period.

“The supporters were excellent throughout my time here and they will always hold a special place in my heart for how they have treated me.

“The players I played with at the club are also a top bunch of lads, unfortunately I was unable to play a part in the play-offs due to an injury I had played through that eventually got the better of me.

“I was absolutely delighted the club secured their Premiership status, where they belong.

“I wanted to thank all of you for your support throughout and wish you all and the club the very best for the future. I’ll be back to watch a game as a County fan in the future!”

County will announce full details of their retained/released list in due course.

Ben Foster has signed a new one-year contract with Wrexham following their return to the English Football League.

The former England goalkeeper, 40, was tempted out of retirement in March to become a part of co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s ambitious plans to haul the club up the divisions.

He provided one of the National League’s moments of the season with a brilliant stoppage-time penalty save against fellow promotion hopefuls Notts County in April, preserving a 3-2 lead and sending Wrexham top of the table.

Phil Parkinson’s side clinched the title with a game to spare to ensure their 15-year stay in the fifth tier finally came to an end.

Foster, who played in the Premier League for Watford as recently as last year, told the club’s official website: “At the end of last season it was obvious that I enjoyed being at the club, I loved being part of the team and everything that Wrexham stands for.

“The fans took to me so warmly, Phil Parkinson is brilliant, (assistant manager) Steve Parkin is top class, I love (goalkeeping coach) Aidan Davison to bits, and the co-chairmen are out of this world.

“I’d decided before the end of last season I wanted to do it, because it feels like home. I’ve never joined a football club and felt at ease so quickly.”

Foster kept three clean sheets in his eight appearances to win his second trophy for the club, 18 years after lifting the LDV Vans Trophy while on loan from Stoke in 2005.

Parkinson said: “We’re delighted that Ben has signed for the coming season.

“It’s a key signing for us because we all saw the impact he had, not just on the pitch but also around the training ground, and we are all looking forward to working with him again next season.”

Norwich have signed Republic of Ireland defender Shane Duffy from Fulham on a three-year contract.

The 31-year-old, capped 55 times by his country, made five Premier League appearances for Fulham during the 2022-23 season.

Norwich boss David Wagner told the club’s official website: “We’re delighted to welcome Shane to the club. He’s a player with a vast amount of experience, both domestically and on the international stage.

“I’m confident that he’ll be a great fit for our squad and brings not only the on-field qualities that we have been looking for, but leadership and desire to help drive our club forward.

“From my conversations with Shane, his vision was clear. You can feel that determination and hunger to play and win football games.”

Duffy began his career in England at Everton and had spells at Blackburn and Brighton before a loan move to Fulham last summer was made permanent in the January transfer window.

Liverpool signed Jordan Henderson from Sunderland on this day in 2011.

The deal for the 20-year-old England midfielder was reported to be worth £16million.

“Obviously it’s hard to leave your local club. I’m a Sunderland lad, I’ve supported them all my life,” Henderson told the Liverpool website.

“But this is a massive opportunity for me. I’m really excited by it.

“Coming to a massive club like Liverpool, there is always going to be competition.

“Hopefully I can keep working hard, keep improving, and get my chance on the pitch.”

Henderson picked up a winners’ medal in his first season at Anfield as Liverpool beat Cardiff in a Wembley penalty shoot-out to win the 2012 League Cup.

He became Liverpool’s vice-captain in September 2014 and was appointed skipper the following July after Steven Gerrard’s departure.

Henderson has gone on to lift seven trophies as Liverpool captain under Jurgen Klopp – the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield.

He was named the 2019-20 Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year as Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to become champions of England.

The 75-times capped Henderson has played 492 games for Liverpool, with only Jamie Carragher and Gerrard making more Premier League appearances for the club.

Michael O’Neill believes Northern Ireland still have everything to play for in their bid to reach Euro 2024 even as injuries hit hard during the qualifying campaign.

With a trip to Denmark and a home match against Kazakhstan up next, O’Neill has named a 28-man squad that includes five uncapped players and a total of 15 with fewer than 10 caps.

Although Jonny Evans returns from the hamstring injury that prevented him from adding to his 100 caps in March, Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson remain sidelined, forcing O’Neill to rely on youth.

When O’Neill returned to the Northern Ireland job in December there was an opportunity to capitalise on a favourable qualifying draw, and although that remains possible, the absence of his most experienced players is making it a much tougher ask.

Northern Ireland began with a 2-0 win in San Marino in their group opener, but a 1-0 home defeat to Finland highlighted the difficulties.

Asked if the job had been harder than envisaged, O’Neill said: “I suppose it depends on what the expectation is for this campaign going forward as well. I still think we have got everything to play for in this campaign.

“The next two games are going to be very important and then obviously we have a double-header away in September (against Slovenia and Kazakhstan) which will be difficult, so we are going to ask a lot of a number of young players in this group.

“The senior players that we have with us, we really can’t afford to lose any more. I think we have eight players out who could all equally play for us, who have all been established players with a high number of caps.

“That is the situation that unfortunately we just have to deal with.”

It has meant O’Neill has been juggling the need for results with the need to nurture young players, with Conor Bradley and Shea Charles in particular asked to take on significant roles.

“It is a different approach from taking a team and saying ‘Right, how do we qualify? What is our route to qualification? How do we get enough points?’” O’Neill added.

“Of course, that is always in the background but I think it is more about the integration of the younger players and they will have to learn very quickly on the job if we are going to take that next step.”

O’Neill has hosted a series of training camps with senior players and under-21s in recent weeks, aiming to keep fitness levels high after the end of domestic campaigns while running the rule over younger faces.

Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly, West Ham teenager Callum Marshall and Larne forward Lee Bonis have all used the opportunity to earn their first senior call-ups.

While the return of Evans is a major boost, the Leicester defender will come into camp dealing with the disappointment of relegation and facing uncertainty over his future.

“He is very disappointed for them to go down and he is in a situation where he is out of contract as well,” O’Neill said. “I am sure if he was playing his football elsewhere next season he would have liked to have left Leicester in a slightly different way but he was just unfortunate this season.

“Probably, I think by his own admission, he pushed very hard to get back because I think he does make a difference to Leicester’s team. I think you saw that in the final three games that he was fit to play in. But I know he is keen to be a part of this squad and play.

“It is big for us to have him back, obviously we missed him in March and I believe that Jonny still has a lot of football left in him, both with Northern Ireland and wherever he chooses to play his football next season.”

West Ham enjoyed a heroes’ welcome as fans lined the streets of east London to celebrate their Europa Conference League glory.

The Hammers won their first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, and a first European title since 1965, when they beat Italian side Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague on Wednesday night.

And their jubilant supporters, decked out in the famous claret and blue on a warm and sunny evening in the capital, packed the pavements as the Hammers paraded the silverware on an open-top bus.

The squad’s journey started at the site of their former home at Upton Park and finished at Stratford Town Hall, where they enjoyed a reception.

Only West Ham fans of a certain age will ever have seen their side celebrate success like this, with a similar parade being held after that 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup victory, where the likes of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters got the taste of winning trophies.

But the younger generation made the most of it, climbing on lamp posts and bus stops to get the best vantage point of their heroes while also letting off flares.

David Moyes may have joined Ron Greenwood and John Lyall in earning immortality as managers to win a major trophy with the Hammers but he initially endured a lessened role on the bus, taking pictures of his players as they posed together.

But he was soon joining in with the celebrations, dancing and jigging with the trophy on his head.

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Lifting the trophy appears to be a fitting way for captain Declan Rice to bow out, with chairman David Sullivan confirming the England international will be allowed to leave the club this summer, with a bidding war expected to commence soon.

Rice was emotional on top of the bus, admitting it does not feel “real”.

“This is absolutely incredible, when you’re a kid and you love football as much as I do, and the lads do, you see teams having trophy parades,” he said. “I was once a kid watching teams do trophy parades and now to be doing one and captaining the side is just so, so special, I can’t even put into words.

“We knew it would be exciting and the fans would come out, I am just trying to take it all in, we don’t get to experience this ever. These moments don’t come around very often.

“I’ve seen top captains over the years lift trophies and it was my time at West Ham to lift the trophy. It doesn’t really feel real.

“At 24, captain of West Ham lifting a trophy in a European competition, I don’t think it is going to hit me for a while, but I am going to enjoy it and be as happy for as long as possible.

“Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, I am seeing messages that I am now in that category, I don’t really know what to say. Bizarre.”

Moyes spent much of the season under pressure following a disappointing Premier League campaign, but Rice believes he is now the club’s best-ever manager.

The England midfielder added on Sky Sports News: “I think he goes down as the best manager West Ham have ever had. The circumstances, when he first came in, kept us twice, European competition, we finished fifth, sixth, a semi-final (Europa League) and now we’ve won this, he deserves all the credit he gets.

“He’s a top man and as you can see he is buzzing.”

Jarrod Bowen was West Ham’s hero in the final as he scored a 90th-minute winner, capping off a remarkable turnaround in his career having been playing at non-league Hereford nine years ago after being rejected as a youngster by Aston Villa.

“I love the game and these moments make it all worth it, the rejections and not going the way you want it,” he said.

“You fast forward 10 years and you are on an open-top bus parade for winning a European trophy so from where I have come, my mum was crying on the phone, my dad was there.

“It is a bit surreal to say I have won a European trophy from where I have come from. I love it.”

Jonny Evans is back in the Northern Ireland squad for next week’s Euro 2024 qualifiers but Michael O’Neill will once again be relying on youth with a long list of senior players still injured.

Evans – out of contract at relegated Leicester this summer – was unable to add to his 100 caps in March when he was forced to pull out of O’Neill’s first games back in charge of the national team due to a hamstring injury, but is in a 28-man squad to play Denmark away and Kazakhstan at home.

But with Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson all still sidelined, O’Neill has included five uncapped players, with 15 of the 28 having fewer than 10 caps.

Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly, West Ham teenager Callum Marshall and Larne forward Lee Bonis have all received their first call-ups, with the uncapped Sean Goss and Eoin Toal again included after not featuring in March’s fixtures.

Blackpool striker Shayne Lavery returns after a hamstring injury kept him out of the last squad, although there will be a question over his fitness levels as he has managed only one appearance, as a substitute away to Norwich on the final day, since being sidelined in February.

There is also a return for Ethan Galbraith, who earned the last of his two international caps back in 2020.

The 22-year-old is a free agent this summer after leaving Manchester United, having spent last season on loan at Salford.

O’Neill has been working with several players from both the senior ranks and the under-21s at a series of training camps in recent weeks, aiming to keep his players sharp following the end of their domestic campaigns.

Northern Ireland travel to Copenhagen to face Denmark on Friday June 16 before taking on Kazakhstan at Windsor Park the following Monday.

Count D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney among the many who are excited about Lionel Messi coming to Major League Soccer.

After Messi announced on Wednesday that he would be joining Inter Miami CF after his exit from Paris Saint-Germain, Rooney said the move is a major win for MLS.

"I think it's great, to bring Messi into the league," Rooney said on Thursday. "We've all seen, over the years, the impact of (Inter Miami co-owner) David Beckham coming in, (former Los Angeles Galaxy striker) Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) coming in.

"Different players from overseas. To get Messi in the league, arguably the greatest player of all time, and still – he’s a little bit older – but not long ago he won the World Cup almost single handed.

"It's going to be great for the league, for Miami."

Messi, 35, is expected to make his MLS debut sometime in July, and D.C. hosts Inter Miami on July 8.

"It'd be nice if we were his first opponents for D.C. fans to see him up close and for us to challenge ourselves against him," Rooney said.

"One thing I will say – it’s not going to be easy for him. The league's a difficult league and I don't think he's going to come over here and absolutely tear it up immediately.

"He'll have to adapt because it's a bit different, it won't be an easy ride for him."

Messi dragged Argentina to their first World Cup success since 1986 in Qatar last year, and the Barcelona great has won the Ballon d'Or trophy a record seven times.

"He's the best. Simple as that," Rooney said. "In my view he's the best player to ever play the game. That's how he's different.

"The fanbase around him will be huge, commercially, for the league I'm sure it'll be huge as well. It's massive for MLS. With Messi coming here – I know MLS has always brought players in – but I think it'll do that again, and it shows MLS can compete.

"It shows it’s a league where people want to come and want to play and it's a huge first step."

Erling Haaland is well aware he was brought to Manchester City to help them win the Champions League.

City are just one victory away from claiming the prize they covet most but has eluded them time after time with several near misses in recent years.

Haaland has been key to their latest charge to the final, where they face Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday, after a prolific first season at the Etihad Stadium.

The Norwegian has plundered 52 goals in all competitions since City identified him as the potential final piece in their jigsaw last year and paid £51million to recruit him from Borussia Dortmund.

“The Premier League, they won it two times in a row before I came here,” said Haaland. “So they know how to win the Premier League.

“The only thing they miss now is the Champions League. You can think and read between the words and the lines – I have been coming here for a reason.”

Haaland scored a record 36 Premier League goals as he helped City make it three titles in a row. They followed up that success by winning the FA Cup last weekend.

Now City are bidding to join rivals Manchester United in the history books by becoming only the second side to win the treble.

Doing so would see Haaland fulfil a long-held dream of winning the Champions League.

“I have been dreaming and thinking of it my whole life,” said the 22-year-old. “It has been my dream as long as I can remember, so a long time.

“Of course I have been thinking of this. There is one game left we have to perform at our best in. We have been doing it now for so many games in a row. It’s about keeping going.”

Such is Haaland’s love of the Champions League, that he even used to play the competition’s theme music in his car during his younger days.

“Yes, there is a video of me doing that,” he said. “You can search it up. It’s true.”

Haaland feels his game has improved at City under the guidance of Pep Guardiola – someone he describes as a “detail freak” – but is convinced there is more to come.

He said: “I am really enjoying every single day with him, with the intense Pep. I like it.

“I am still young, I can improve a lot and I am at the perfect place to work with the best coach and players in the world.”

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley believes his old club need to sign two forwards who can outscore James Tavernier or they will not stop Celtic dominating Scottish football.

Right-back Tavernier was the club’s top league goalscorer last term with 16 goals and his total in all competitions of 18 was the same as Antonio Colak.

Fashion Sakala and the now departed Alfredo Morelos both hit 12 while Celtic’s main striker Kyogo Furuhashi weighed in with 34 goals on the way to the club’s fifth treble in seven seasons.

Hateley said: “We need two strikers that can score more than a right-back to win anything. It’s as simple as that.

“We need strikers that can get more goals than the captain to have a chance of competing at the very top. And that doesn’t come cheap.

“I think you need to bring in three strikers that are all credible and can produce.”

Colak’s future looks unclear after he only scored four goals and struggled for fitness following Michael Beale’s arrival, while Sakala played in a central role at times and on the wing on other occasions.

On Sakala, Hateley said: “He’s a young lad so he will develop as time goes on but if you are working with top goalscorers, your game comes on a lot quicker. I think he would probably become more of a squad player.

“The key now is to get two strikers in the team. It’s now easier because Alfredo has left the club because it was always difficult to play another player with Alfredo. He was the lone wolf with players playing around him but Michael now has the ability to play with two strikers, different formations.”

Hateley does not necessarily believe Ange Postecoglou’s departure from Celtic Park to Tottenham is in itself an opportunity for Rangers.

“You could say so but the structure that Celtic have in place, I don’t think a lot will change,” he said.

“I don’t know if Ange can take players with him but what Ange has done has been absolutely phenomenal, and the way the board have trusted him in his methodology and his way of thinking has been commendable.

“Top coaches like a challenge and they like to challenge the best. Ange has produced that. It’s always great competition, if you have two great teams on the pitch who are competing to prove who has the edge, and it’s the same with managers. You need managers to push each other.”

Hateley was promoting the Glasgow European Capital of Sport 2023 Refugee Football Tournament, which will feature players from more than 50 nations at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on July 2.

The former England striker said: “Refugees are coming to all different parts of the world and trying to find homes and friendships and where better to come than Glasgow, Scotland? Always welcoming, hence why I am still here.

“Football is a medium where friendships are built so it’s an important factor. It’s a fantastic initiative.”

Lionel Messi's impending transfer to Inter Miami will be a great tool to help MLS grow, says Michael Dawson.

Messi confirmed on Wednesday that he will join Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.

Barcelona wanted to re-sign the 35-year-old, but could not make the finances work, with Messi claiming he did not want a potential return to his old club to result in other players having to cut their salaries or be sold.

Now, a new venture in the United Stats awaits, and former Tottenham defender Dawson thinks it will be a huge positive for the growth of the sport in the United States.

Speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace, Dawson said: "I always look back to the MLS when David Beckham went [in 2007 to LA Galaxy] and I always believe he was the start of the MLS improving and growing.

"You look at Cristiano Ronaldo going to Saudi [Arabia] and playing over there, it gives people a different interest.

"Messi [and Ronaldo], they are icons of football, the best players of my generation. So if you attract that to your country, to your league, it's only going to bring people watching it.

"I say the Premier League is the best league in the world. I've never played in a different country. Maybe that's something I would have maybe liked if the opportunity to come along.

"But with these kinds of players going over there, it will always attract interest from the supporters because as a fan, you follow Messi, you follow Ronaldo, and that's why the owners of these football clubs spend all the money to go and get them because they try and enhance their brand, their football team and their league."

Celtic should bring Brendan Rodgers back “in a heartbeat” if their old manager is keen on a return to Glasgow, according to former Hoops full-back Mark Wilson.

Rodgers is favourite to replace Ange Postecoglou as Celtic boss following the Greek-born Australian’s departure to Tottenham.

The former Liverpool manager has previously stated he would be open to a return to Celtic Park if the timing was right, but accepted he might not be welcomed by fans who were hurt by the manner of his sudden exit to Leicester in February 2019 after winning seven domestic trophies out of seven.

There are reports that Rodgers would prefer a longer break after losing his job as Foxes manager in early April but talk of a return is lingering.

“If Celtic have got the option to bring him back, I would in a heartbeat, I really would,” Wilson said.

“Brendan Rodgers is a top-tier manager, his history shows that. You don’t get the Liverpool job if you’re not a top-tier manager, you don’t get the success in Glasgow he had if you’re not a top-class manager.

“He had a style of football here that the supporters and players bought into, possession-based. It was terrific to watch and it yielded trophies, year after year.

“Of course the baggage he has with some Celtic fans, the way he left, would be hard to dissolve. But football is a results-driven business and if he came back and started well, and there were a few good signings in the door, I think a lot of that bad feeling would quickly evaporate.”

Postecoglou’s departure days after clinching the treble has impacted some Celtic fans in similar fashion.

“It’s where are in the world of football,” Wilson said. “We are here in the Scottish Premiership, which is a fantastic league, entertaining, we all love it.

“But when you are just across the border from the richest league in the world, really anybody that is successful here is going to go to England.

“I know we hate saying it but the resources and the lure of the English Premier League is too much for our players, managers and chairmen who get offers for players. Managers are no different.

“When their stock is as high as Ange Postecoglou’s, and you get offered a job like Spurs, how can you blame anyone for going south of the border?”

Wilson was promoting the Glasgow European Capital of Sport 2023 Refugee Football Tournament, which will feature players from more than 50 nations at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on July 2.

“It’s an outstanding initiative, it gives everybody the opportunity to play, particularly in Glasgow where we are so diverse,” he said.

“And the football pitch brings everybody together, it doesn’t matter their race, religion, background, ethnicity, to have this tournament to bring all parties together, is going to be a fantastic occasion.

“I do a lot of work in Glasgow myself with charities and we have a lot of participants who are refugees, young refugees, and they can get signposted to the next level.”

Ross County defender Jack Baldwin admits he had an emotional moment with his family after the Staggies’ great escape following their sacrifices for his career.

The Essex native moved his family up to the Highlands after joining from Bristol Rovers two years ago and did not want to think too much about the ramifications if County lost their top-flight status.

His team were facing that prospect after going three goals down on aggregate in the first half of the second leg of the cinch Premiership play-off final against Partick Thistle on Sunday.

County fought back in the final 20 minutes and got the advantage in the penalty shootout only for Baldwin’s spot-kick to be saved. But they eventually prevailed in sudden death to spark a pitch invasion from the Dingwall fans.

“The overriding emotion was relief, obviously with the way it ended and personally missing the penalty,” the 29-year-old told the PA news agency.

“Conceding the goal was a bit of a kick early on but we had scored five goals in the previous two home games so we knew if we could score we would give ourselves a chance, because the boys create chances and love playing here.

“I am just delighted for everyone involved in the club. It’s a family-oriented club, everyone works so hard from the backroom staff to the coaching staff and players. Everyone off the pitch probably does three jobs. It’s fantastic for the club, the community and the area in general to keep our Premiership status.”

The former Hartlepool, Peterborough, Sunderland and Salford centre-back added: “We have moved a long way from home. I think you need to immerse yourself in the community and the team you play for, the club you represent.

“My family were on the pitch at the end with me and I was welling up and getting emotional, because they have sacrificed a lot for me to come up and play football here. Kids starting new schools, wife leaving home and making new friends, miles away. It does mean a lot, for sure.

“I have two kids, aged six and nine. My nine-year-old girl is probably in her fifth or sixth different school so far because we have done a lot of moving. It’s a fantastic area to raise a young family. They are loving being up here, they are loving everything about the Highlands.

“The ramifications for the club if we went down would have been massive so I am sure there would have been lot of conversations. It’s not something you wanted to think about too much. But thankfully we are not in that position.”

Dundee have confirmed the signing of Charlie Reilly from Albion Rovers on a two-year contract.

The 21-year-old was recently named PFA Scotland League 2 Player of the Year and was on the shortlist for the players’ and Scottish Football Writers’ young player awards.

Reilly hit 24 goals and provided 19 assists in 43 games last season despite Rovers finishing bottom of the table and losing their league status.

The former Hamilton and Partick Thistle player was training with Dundee last season while playing for Rovers.

He told the club’s website: “I am delighted to get it over the line, it’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to get started.

“The club felt right for me, I’ve been in training for a long time and the boys were good with me and it just felt right.

“Being in at the club for training last season helped massively while I was at Albion. It helped me a lot fitness wise and in a lot of other ways too.

“I’ve had good conversations with the gaffer and he’s shown belief in me, he knows what I can do. I’m really excited to work with him and to get started.”

Manager Tony Docherty added: “I have worked with Charlie previously and have seen him in action. I was impressed with him, with his ability and athleticism. The numbers and nominations he got last season speak volumes about him.

“I know I’m getting a player with talent and an eye for goal, but I know I’m getting a player with the right attitude. He’s committed to the club, moving up to the area, which is a big thing for me.

“I think he’s a player when the Dundee fans see him in full flow they will really enjoy watching him. I am delighted that he has chosen to sign for us.”