Adding a central defender was a priority for James McPake ahead of Dundee’s return to the Premiership.
The Dark Blues will be back at Scottish football’s top table on July 31 when they take on St Mirren.
That day they will have former Stoke and Mansfield defender Ryan Sweeney to call on, looking to make his bow in Scottish league football.
And McPake is delighted to get a target the club identified early, adding to other central defensive options Lee Ashcroft, Liam Fontaine and Sam Fisher.
Jordan McGhee can also fill in at the back but the Dundee boss confirmed he would be used as a midfielder first and foremost this season.
Twenty-four-year-old Sweeney made the move to Dens Park last week after leaving Field Mill at the end of last season.
Different option
McPake, though, says he made plenty of calls to get the background on the former Republic of Ireland U/21 international before making his move.
That included a review of Sweeney from McPake’s former Coventry City team-mate Ben Turner, who played with the defender at Mansfield.
“He’s a big lad and he’s one that’s played a lot of football for a 24-year-old,” said McPake of 6ft 5in Sweeney.
“He’s been involved in a lot of tough games down south.
Day 3 | 2021/22 | #thedee pic.twitter.com/wKRsNzZEVK
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) June 23, 2021
“He’s one we had our eye on, someone Charlie Adam knows from Stoke and Ben Turner played with at Mansfield.
“He’ll handle it up here and will add to our squad. We were short in that department and we identified him early.
“He’s left-footed so he is different to what we have. We now have three really experienced ones plus Sam Fisher.
“Jordan McGhee can fill in there but we see him as a midfielder now. He brings so much to the team there.
“We’re delighted to get Ryan in.”
‘Ryan will enjoy it here – it wasn’t a hard sell’
Sweeney had no links to Scotland, other than having played with the likes of Butcher and Adam down south.
However, McPake says it wasn’t difficult to convince the defender to up sticks and move to a new league.
The 24-year-old has spent his entire career in Leagues One and Two in England but the attraction of some of the big games awaiting the Dark Blues this term made for an easy pitch.
And McPake, who spent three years at Coventry City in the English Championship, expects his new signing to revel in the extra media attention in the Scottish Premiership.
“It wasn’t a hard sell,” McPake added.
“Maybe it would have been had we not been in the Premiership but when you can say we’ll be playing at Celtic Park, Ibrox and in the Dundee derby it’s an attractive league.
“Ryan will find out how much of a bubble Scottish football is.
“I noticed that when I went to play in the English Championship, it’s just not reported anywhere near as much as our game up here.
“Up here it is a goldfish bowl but he’ll enjoy that scrutiny and what comes with playing in Scotland.”