THE Scotland Under-21 international Mark O’Hara says the time was right to make the switch to England after leaving Dundee for Peterborough on a three-year deal.
The Dens Park outfit will receive a compensation fee for a player
they signed from Kilmarnock two years ago.
O’Hara scored six goals in 39 appearances last season as he helped
Neil McCann’s side preserve their SPFL Premiership status, and made
a total of 70 appearances for the Tayside outfit.
However, the 22-year-old insists he could not turn down the chance to
test himself at a different level after linking up with Steve Evans’ League One side.
He said: “I felt it was the right time in my career to come down and play in England and am looking forward to it. I have played a lot of games for my age and am ready for the next challenge. As soon as I heard Peterborough were interested, it was a simple decision.
“I spoke with the manager and he outlined how ambitious the club was and hopefully I can be part of a promotion push next season. That was part of the attraction, I wanted to come to a club that had ambitions of getting to the next level. I can’t wait to get started and try and get myself into the team.”
Evans, the club’s Glasgow-born manager, admits he is a long-term admirer of the player.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted to bring Mark to Peterborough United. He is a young man that I have watched since he made his debut at Celtic Park for Kilmarnock and I have kept track of his progress; it is fair to say he has had an outstanding season with Dundee Football Club.
“In fairness to Dundee, they worked terrifically well with [Peterborough director of football] Barry Fry to get this deal over the line and although it has cost our chairman [Darragh MacAnthony] a few quid, I am sure it will be worthwhile.”
Meanwhile, the former Dundee manager who signed O’Hara, Paul Hartley, has added to his backroom team at Falkirk with the appointment of Motherwell coach Graeme McArthur.
McArthur replaces current performance analyst, Greg Wallace, who has left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur, and will also double up as Falkirk’s reserve team coach.
McArthur has been an academy coach at Motherwell since 2010 and has also had spells as the senior ladies head coach and, for the last four years, performance analyst assistant.
A delighted Hartley said: “We are pleased to boost our coaching
staff with the appointment of Graeme.
“He will be a great asset in terms of assisting with our reserve team,
in particular our second-year apprentices who will form the
majority of our reserve squad for next season.
“Graeme has a good understanding of the way in which we work and will fit in well having known [assistant manager] Gordon Young from his time at Fir Park.”
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