Midfielder Stefan Scougall signed a new deal with United on Friday and we sat down with him shortly after he put pen-to-paper to get his thoughts on his extended stay at the club.
“I’m delighted to have it all sorted,” he said. "It’s taken a lot longer that I thought it would, but I just can’t wait to get back in for training next week.
"To be honest, I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible but my agent was just trying to get the best deal possible for me, and it became about ironing out the small details.
“When it takes as long as it has, you do start wondering whether it’s ever going to get done, but we got there in the end. There was interest from other clubs but I always knew I wanted to be here. I told my agent as soon as I got offered the contract that this was where I wanted to be."
“It is a bit frustrating when it takes as long as this but it’s done now and I’m delighted to be here," he added. "Like I said when I first signed, the gaffer was a big part in me coming here.
"The way he likes to play suits me to a tee. I think the fans saw towards the end of the season that he likes to play attacking, high pressure football, and I really enjoy that."
“I don’t think I showed it often enough last season, but I think in glimpses I showed what I’m capable of," he told us. "I hadn’t played consistent games for a good year before I got here, so hopefully with a good pre-season under my belt I can get a consistent run and show the form I know I’m capable of.
“You’re always trying to prove to people that you’re worth another contract so the one-year deal was fine for me. I know the gaffer has got a lot of faith and trust in me, and hopefully I can repay that with good performances on the pitch.
“Like I say, once I’ve had a pre-season I know I can show more of what I showed last year. I maybe played well for 45 or 60 minutes, and the aim is obviously to be doing it for 90 minutes. I’ve heard stories about the gaffer’s pre-seasons so I know it will be tough, but that'll stand me in good stead and hopefully I can have a good season.
“When I start this season I’ll be as fit as I can be, whereas I came in last January and I was nowhere near as fit as I could have been because I hadn’t played many games. I’d had a bad injury then I was out of favour, so I’m looking forward to a good start to the season and I just want to make an impact on the team."
On what it was that made this his place of choice, he said: “I feel like this club fits for me. I obviously know the staff, who are all great, and it does feel like home.
"I don’t think it’s a secret that the club wants to get back up to League One, so that’s got to be the end goal. We’ll all be working hard to try and achieve that."
With a lot of new faces in the dressing room, he confirmed that he's just looking forward to getting back and getting on with the job at hand.
“Players are always coming and going at every club, so it'll just be a case of us getting to know each other and making sure we’ve got a good connection," he said. "I think there will be plenty of team building exercises in the next couple of weeks to get us all to bond, and that will only stand us in good stead.
“I’ve been back from my holiday for a good few weeks now so I’m just itching to get back. I’ve been climbing the walls, so I’m delighted to get it all done and I’m looking forward to getting back to football now.
“Age wise I'm 26 and I know the next year or two is a big part of my career. Hopefully it will be the best part of my career. I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to coming back for the pre-season running, but it's a good feeling to be coming back into work every day, because you do miss it.
“It’s only five or six weeks until the season starts and it will come around quickly, especially once we get back in for pre-season. I can’t wait to get going.
"The players the gaffer has brought in all look like good additions, so it’s all about getting that togetherness within the squad and the club. We’re a little bit light on numbers but I’m sure the gaffer is working hard to bring in players who fit the way he wants to play."
Speaking about the need to fill the void created by the departure of Jamie Devitt, he commented: “Dev was unbelievable last season and it showed with the amount of goals and assists he got.
"It will be up to myself and the other lads in attacking areas to step up and provide more goals and assists and make sure we fill that gap."
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