Dundee boss Paul Hartley insists it speaks volumes for Nick Ross that despite several good reasons to stay with Inverness, the player opted to move to Dens.
The midfielder became the manager’s eighth summer signing yesterday, putting pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Dark Blues.
Hartley could not hide his delight at being able to snap up Ross, especially as there had been a lot of interest in him from other clubs.
Hartley said: “I have been working on this one for a number of months.
“We think he is a good fit for us. We are delighted we have got him as we faced a lot of competition.
“Inverness were also keen to keep him but we have managed to persuade him to come here.
“Hopefully, it is a new chapter in his career.
“He has come from a cup-winning team that is going to be playing in Europe but I think Nick sees this as a fresh challenge for him, a new start.
“He fits the bill and is a good age.
“Nick could have stayed at Inverness and maybe had the experience of European football but he wants to play regularly every week.
“He is an Inverness boy and has never been out of the place so it does speak volumes for him.
“As soon as I spoke to him, he was keen to come to Dundee.”
While Ross will definitely be playing his football at Dens this season, there is still uncertainty over the futures of two players from the last campaign’s squad, Stephen McGinn and Jim McAlister.
The pair have been offered new deals but the manager admitted he is still in the dark as to whether they will be accepting.
He said: “The people at the top are dealing with that so we will just have to wait and see.
“But looking at the squad just now, I am happy with what we’ve got.
“We have brought eight in, while nine have gone out.
“We have trimmed the age of the team down which was important for us.”