Hartley eager to extend Clarkson’s Dundee contract
Former Scotland ace Clarkson has been a big success since signing for Dundee in September and his strike in their 2-1 Premiership defeat away to Celtic at the weekend was his seventh in as many games. The 29-year-old is signed with Paul Hartley’s men until the end of the season but the Dens manager has revealed he has already started the process of trying to extend his stay at the Tayside club after a blistering start to life back in the Scottish top flight.
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Hide AdHartley said: “We’re talking to the owners just now. It’s something we want to try and do, that’s for sure. We’ve got David until the end of the season but I want to try and keep him longer because he’s been absolutely terrific so far. We were fortunate enough that we were able to get him. I still think there’s much more to come from him. His work-rate, experience and overall he’s been first class. I always knew how good a player he was and he just needed to top up his fitness.”
Meanwhile, Dundee striker Greg Stewart faces a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s televised Scottish Cup clash with Aberdeen at Dens.
Summer signing Stewart picked up a knock at Celtic Park but Hartley is hopeful the ex-Cowdenbeath man will shrug it off in time to lead the attack against the Dons. He said: “Greg has taken a knock on his calf. Hopefully he will be okay to join in training on Thursday or Friday.
“Greg has been excellent since coming here. I thought he was outstanding at Parkhead on Saturday. ”
Dundee hope to bounce back to winning ways in the cup this weekend and Hartley was buoyed by their Celtic display.
He said: “I thought we should have taken something from the game with the way we played and the chances we created.”
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