Dundee continued to build for their return to the top flight yesterday by signing Paul McGowan, the former St Mirren forward, and Paul McGinn, the 23-year-old full-back who was a stand-out for Dumbarton last season.

McGowan insisted knowing the Dundee manager Paul Hartley from their time together at Celtic helped lure him to Tayside. "He was always good with me so it was a big factor in me joining. "I know Simon [Ferry] from Celtic, [Kevin] Thomson has played at the highest level and [James] McPake is a leader. It shows the ambition of the club and was a major factor as well.

McGinn played for Dumbarton on the final day of last season when Hartley's side secured promotion from the Championshipa aand was suitably impressed.

"I've never experienced anything like that," he said. "I was blown away by the last day of the season. I've heard people talk about Dundee being a big club but it was proved to me that day."