SCOTT ALLAN last night said he opted to leave Celtic because he knew he had no chance of breaking into Brendan Rodgers’ first team.
The 25-year-old midfielder last night agreed a season-long loan at Dundee having spent a similar spell at Rotherham United in the campaign just ended.
Allan, who made his name across the road at Dundee United, has struggled to make any kind of impact at Parkhead since making the move there from Hibernian in August 2015. He believes the switch to Dens Park and the chance to work under Neil McCann will give him the perfect chance to reignite his career.
Allan becomes McCann’s first transfer business of the summer alongside Sutton United forward Roarie Deacon and the former Hibernian midfielder says he had no hesitation in joining Dundee where McCann was installed as manager just weeks ago.
He said: “I spoke to him and just said I thought this was right for me. He knows Neil and he also thinks this is the right place for me at the moment. When he [Rodgers] came in last year, I had a lot of chats with him.
“He has done unbelievably well at Celtic. So for me not playing at Rotherham and going back to Celtic for pre-season with all those players who have been fantastic, realistically it was going to be really hard to get back into that side."
Allan also revealed that a sit-down with McCann convinced him to commit his immediate future to Dundee.
He said: “I just spoke to the manager and I could see the way he is wanting to take the club forward. I want to be a part of that and I think he will get the best out of me. He convinced me with the style he is wanting to play football wise. He wants me to be a main part of it so it was an easy decision in the end. It is team togetherness that is going to get us playing good football. If we find the right balance, I am sure we will be fine.”
He said: “I spoke to the manager [McCann] and I liked what I heard. For me, it is a big year just to get back playing football week in, week out. I think this is the right place for me just now. The first year I was at Celtic I made a number for appearances off the bench and then last season I took a gamble moving down to Rotherham with Alan Stubbs.
“But it didn’t work out with the way we played. It didn’t suit me at all. So I just thought it was better being back up the road beside my family and playing football to show everybody what I can do again. I just want to get back playing football.
“I don’t think I have a point to prove . . . just get people watching me again. I have had two years not really playing week in, week out unlike when I was at Hibs. That was really good for me so it has that same sort of feeling coming here and I am hoping to do the same again.”
Meanwhile, McCann was thrilled with his joint signing as he gears up for his first full season at the helm following his role as interim gaffer which save them from the threat of relegation at the end of last season.
McCann said: “I’m absolutely delighted to get Scott and Roarie on board.
“Scott was a player who was always in my mind and once we got things underway and started to look at signing targets, he was one who we chased.
“I think he’ll excite the fans and will be a tremendous asset in the final third.
“Roarie came to prominence during that quite famous cup run with Sutton United. But I knew him before that and he’s at that perfect age, being just 26. He feels he’s got a lot to offer and is remarkably two-footed. I’ve watched him and I’m really excited about what he can do as he can play right across the front.
“He brings intelligence, pace and directness which is maybe something we lacked last season. There was clear interest in both player. To get Scott from Celtic means I’m thankful to them. I spoke to him about my plans and what has already been happening here and he just bought into it. What you want is a player who wants to play for you and I got that from both guys.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel