Paul Paton indulged in some self-deprecating humour as he reflected upon his new deal that will keep him at Tannadice until the summer of 2017.
The Dundee United midfielder ensured the joke was on him just a couple of days after the Tannadice team’s 6-1 defeat to Celtic.
Paton, who was caught in possession by scorer Stefan Johansen for the Hoops’ third goal and joined his colleagues in having a nightmarish afternoon, claimed it was maybe just as well the agreement had been in place before the trip to Parkhead.
It was a light-hearted approach that put welcome smiles on faces as the United players gathered for training in the wake of such a heavy defeat.
Paton joked: “Thankfully the deal was signed before the Celtic game! Seriously, though, it wasn’t a good day for us.
“It hurt and we were embarrassed but it’s done now and we have to move on. Individually and collectively we were not good enough and we have to take lessons from it.
“We were punished for daft mistakes and I have to learn from that as well. But the gaffer has just told us that we have to move on from it now.
“It hurt so much personally because I have not made many mistakes since I came here. Where I play, you get punished for mistakes because they get through to the last line.
“If you are a striker you get away with it more but you just have to put your hands up, as I did.
“It’s hard but you have to be big boys and get on with it. It was tough going back to Celtic Park after losing a Scottish Cup final and then losing six goals.
“However, as disappointed as we were, this is a new week and we have to look to the next game now.
“I don’t think the boys will need lifted too much as it’s gone now. It wasn’t good enough, we know that, and we’ll work hard this week.
“We’re all adults and professionals so Saturday can’t come quickly enough.
“I don’t think we need to go overboard about it. It was one bad game and plenty of teams could go to Celtic Park and take a hammering like that.
“It’s how you respond now and we will look to do that this weekend when we play Ross County.”
Paton then looked at the bigger picture, with the last year or so having seen him go from being a new arrival from Partick Thistle to a regular for United and full Northern Ireland international.
“It has been a good first year here for me so I was delighted to sign again. The deal has been on the table for a while but it was the only thing I was going to do.
“I have improved since I came here. Maybe some people wouldn’t have thought I would become an international player here or do so well. But I feel I have had a good year and need to kick on even further now. I have progressed and want to keep it going.”
The Northern Ireland thing has been great,” said Paton, who made his international debut against Uruguay in May. “We have Hungary in a few weeks’ time and I would love to be involved in that.”
Manager McNamara was happy to get Paton signed up, saying: “Paul has done well for us so we are delighted to get him signed up.”