Gary Harkins ready for another Dens Park survival mission

Gary Harkins watches Sunday's match from the stands.SNS Group

Helping to keep Dundee in the SPL this season will be on a par with helping keep them in the First Division post-administration, according to returning Dens Park old boy Gary Harkins.

The midfielder will make his second Dark Blues’ debut against Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday, and he’s under no illusions about what he’s signed up for.

Overcoming an 11-point deficit is many people’s idea of an unachievable goal, but so was avoiding relegation following a 25-point deduction and a transfer embargo.

The former Kilmarnock man has stepped back into a dressing room with the same team spirit he left behind, and he believes he can be part of another survival success story.

He said: “There’s still a lot of familiar faces here. I know most of the boys. So it was easy to fit in straight away in the dressing room again.

“It feels as if I’ve never been away. The spirit is just as good as when I left. Hopefully we can get a few wins, which will lift things even more.

“It’s a huge task we’ve got in front of us to stay up. There are some really good teams above us.

“But we just have to concentrate on one game at a time, pick up points game by game and I’m sure if we do that we’ll be near to where we want to get.

“If we stayed up, it would definitely be up there with keeping the team in the First Division after our points deduction.”

The 28-year-old watched Sunday’s draw with his former team Kilmarnock from the stand, and he was impressed with his new team-mates.

“The boys played really well,” he said. “All that was missing was the goal, which their play deserved. I’m delighted to be back, and I’m just desperate to get back playing again.”

Taken from The Courier