Delighted Dundee new boy Brent Sancho has set his sights on breaking into the first team at Dens as soon as possible.
After a six-month wait, the Trinidad international’s prayers were answered late yesterday when he was finally granted the work permit that enables him to become a Dark Blue.
The 26-year-old has admitted, at times, he thought that would never happen, but, rather than dwell on the past, the powerful centre-half is looking to the future.
“It has been hard for me and, of course, there was always the fear that I would not be able to join Dundee, but I spoke to other players who had been in this situation and they gave me hope,” said Sancho.
“I prayed and left it in God’s hands, and I am now very happy to be able to become a Dundee player. It has been a trying time, but all I am thinking about now is getting out on the training pitch to work hard to be ready to play.”
Sancho had been splitting his time between playing in his native Trinidad with champions San Juan Jabloteh and in America where he has a home, but has kept himself in good shape.
With less than two weeks to go until the start of the new season here, it remains to be seen if he will be ready for selection in time, though he feels he is not far away.
Even a Scottish climate that is far cooler than he is used to, either in the Caribbean or his summer home in Baltimore, should not be a problem for him.
“My fitness is good and I just want to get playing to help Dundee have a successful season and, for me, the weather is good for football.”
“In America, I have been in Portland and it is not that different there than it is here, so I do not think it will be too bad.”
Meanwhile, manager Jim Duffy was delighted to finally get the man he has been tracking for almost seven months.
“Brent is an adaptable player, capable of playing two or three positions,” said Jim. “But he is primarily a defender and I believe his experience will be vital to us in that area. We have some excellent young defenders, but they will benefit from having an older head in there.”
German trialist Manuel Bolstler was part of a young Dundee side which beat Cowdenbeath 3-2 at Central Park last night. A stunning 30-yard strike by Bobby Linn with just over 10 minutes remaining gave the Dark Blues a hard-fought victory. Duncan McLean and Jason Walker also netted for the visitors.