Midfielder Josh Dixon put pen-to-paper on a new two-year deal on Thursday and we caught up with him to get his reaction to the good news.
“I can’t put into words what I’m feeling at the moment,” he admitted. “To get through all of the pre-season training without feeling my knee injury and to be able to do all of the running and everything has felt fantastic.
“Tuesday night was my first start for the first team and I enjoyed it so much. It felt really good to play on Brunton Park in front of not just my family, but the fans as well. It was just a dream come true.
“It doesn’t matter that it was a friendly, it was just an unbelievable experience. The main stand was full and there were a lot of away fans as well, which made it a good atmosphere.
"I just tried to get on the ball and concentrate on my game. Getting used to the game was a bit difficult, but once I got a few good passes in I felt confident enough to keep getting on the ball.”
On the speed at which he's settled into the first-team environment, he commented: “I feel like I’ve got used to the tempo quite quickly.
“The players are so good and quick, and they can adapt their style of play depending on the type of pass you give them or the way you play, and I feel like I’ve got used to that straight away.
“Last year when I was injured it was hard, but I feel like I can take anything on now. Pre-season has been the toughest one I’ve ever done but after every training session I feel much better and you can feel the benefits of everything we’re doing.
“If you’d said to me I’d be running up sand dunes and walking up massive hills while I was injured I wouldn’t have believed it, but I’ve surprised myself and I do feel like I can do anything now.
“A lot of it is to do with self-confidence and self-belief and that's growing. Knowing I can fit in with the first team in training every day when I’m just trying to do my best is amazing really."
“Everyone at the club has been fantastic with me," he added. "Even through my injury, nobody tried to rush me into coming back. It was about doing it when I was ready, so I just need to repay it all now and prove that I can cope with this league and get as many minutes as possible.
“During the next couple of years I just want to prove myself. Tuesday night felt good and I felt like I coped well against a good Hibs side. I just want to get a place in the first team and get regular games.”
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