McPake and Wighton re-united
Monday, 27th Jun 2022“If we can get the best out of Craig Wighton then we have a very talented player at this football club.”
Craig Wighton will not be going anywhere this season. That is the message from manager James McPake who has tried to sign the striker twice before. Now that he has inherited a squad with the Dundonian already in it, James is adamant that there is no likelihood of the 24 year old going out on loan this season.
A few eyebrows were raised as bottom of the Championship Pars loaned their striker out to top of the table, Arbroath, last season. The Pars gaffer knows Craig well from their seasons together at Dundee and freely admits that he tried to sign him twice when he was manager at Dundee and tried to bring him back the first time he went to Arbroath in January 2020.
“The second time for whatever reason it fell through but I have a lot of time for him as a person. He is a real good character and in my opinion has been very unfortunate with injury.
“He had a bad knee injury. I can remember the game and subsequent from that I did rehab with him and that is where you see how hard somebody really wants to go. I saw him fight his full way back and earn his move which was a great move.
“He has had some good times at a big club. I am delighted that he is here and he has been a player who has probably frustrated me. I never had a chance to work too much with him, even though I was the reserve team manager and had him in my team.”
Craig may well have the manager’s admiration but James stressed:-
“He is a huge talent but Craig needs to do it, he knows that himself but from what I have seen of him so far he is willing to put the work in. If we can get the best out of Craig Wighton then we have a very talented player at this football club.”
Wighton made his Dundee debut while just a few months beyond his 16th birthday. He was loaned out to Brechin City and Raith Rovers before earning a move to Heart of Midlothian in August 2018. James McPake was 30 when he first played for Dundee and a young Craig Wighton made an immediate pact on him. The manager continued:-
“He hit those heights when he was sixteen, I remember training against him my first day and thinking wow. Maybe that has gone against him. He has come through all the Scotland squads all the way up to the 21s and been in the first team at Dundee.
“He has scored some very big goals. That tag follows you around and then when you maybe have a bad spell people are hard on you but you have to remember his age. He is not old, he has plenty to give, he has missed a year of his career through injury which I am very conscious of but if we can get him anywhere near these levels we have a fantastic football player at this club.
“I know him as a person as well so he will be great to work with. He will be here, he will not be going out on loan this time.”
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