Contract Extensions Reaction
Friday, 10th Jan 202010/01/20: Two Dunfermline fans favourites commit further to the club.
Dunfermline Athletic are delighted to announce that Ryan Dow and Lewis Martin have both signed 1 year contract extensions with the club taking them up until the summer of 2021.
Following the signings Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford said that he was delighted to have Ryan and Lewis commit their future to the club.
"They have done very well. Lewis has had limited game time the previous season and Ryan Dow has come in to prove that he was good enough to play in the Championship and take this club forward and he has certainly done that.
"Both of them are ambitious. Ryan at this stage in his career now, maybe not vocally in terms of how he goes about his business on the park or in training but he is very much a leader in teaching younger players how to play the game. His consistency levels, his manner, he will talk to players in the right manner and educate them and help them get better.
"Lewis Martin for whatever reason has probably not got enough games under his belt for the age that he is at. But given a run of games he has been excellent and under our management we are delighted where Lewis is. I think there is more to come from Lewis and he is up for that challenge.
"Last season was a frustrating for Lewis because of the injury that he had but since I cannot express it enough since coming in and bringing this squad together in the summer, I cannot speak highly enough about the two of them. They have now been rewarded for their efforts. That is what we are all about at the club.
"They backed themselves in the summer, it wasn`t just purely a financial decision, to be able to show with their performances on the pitch and how they went about their work everyday and they have been rewarded from the club for that. They probably could have got better deals somewhere else but they very much wanted to commit to the club.
"It is great to see that they want to be here for longer and I think the fans will be delighted with it, which is important. It will make the players happy too that we have managed to secure Ryan and Lewis for the longer term."
Ryan Dow said it was really good to sign the extension to 2021.
"It has been a couple of weeks to get it through but I have loved it at Dunfermline since I signed in the summer. It has been the most that I have enjoyed my football for a good number of years now. I said that to the gaffer, and the boys who are here have played a big part so it wasn`t a big decision to resign."
Ryan was one of the first players brought in for the 2019-2020 season and he has now made 24 starts for the club. He admitted that this season has given him the best feeling for a number of years.
"I feel really good, I feel there has been a wee bit more consistency to my game. I have really enjoyed it and want to push on now to get this club to where we want to be."
After nine seasons at Dundee United, two at Ross County and a nine month stint in League Two with Peterhead, Ryan takes it as a good sign to have been offered an extension at this stage:-
"I have been in the game for a number of years now and know what it is like with contracts. If a club comes to you half way through the season it is a compliment that you have been doing something right. It was easy to sign since I have really enjoyed it."
The 28 year old Dundonian is confident that the future at Dunfermline can be rosy:-
"In house we know targets for this season and next. We have got a lot of good young players and it is just building up the team, being a bit more consistent. We could be doing better in the table but we have the potential to be up there. It is a big club and we want to get them back up there where they belong."
Lewis Martin felt that having been an ever present in the Dunfermline team this season and shown great consistency it was no surprise to start discussions on a contract extension a few weeks ago:-
"I am just delighted. On a personal note I have done quite well and feel that I can kick on even more, do better and kick us on this season. We hope to get into the play offs and then we can see what happens next season as well."
Lewis has been at Dunfermline from the age of sixteen when he joined as a youth from Rangers, he will be 24 this year and happy to continue his footballing career at East End Park:-
"It is really good to get the deal done at this stage. The last few years I have been waiting until the summer not really having a clue what was going on. I am delighted to get it done so early and now I can concentrate fully on the season without having to worry about anything in the summer.
"Our aim is to get into the plays offs. We have a good enough squad to do it but we need to be more consistent, get winning runs together and with the players that we have I`m sure that we can do it."
Views : 3,021
