Dylan Maclean had considered hanging up his gloves next year – but says his enjoyment of playing for Nairn County will keep him at the club for longer.
The Wee County goalkeeper has signed a contract extension until the summer of 2026.
After becoming a father for the first time last year, Maclean had thought about retirement in the not too distant future.
But speaking to new manager Ross Tokely about Nairn’s future direction convinced him to keep going.
Explaining why he’s committed his future to the club, Maclean said: “Nairn is a well-run club with really good fans and the facilities we’ve got are really good as well.
“For me, it’s important to enjoy my football and to feel welcome at the club.
“It may be part-time, but it’s a big commitment – and I saw that more at the tail end of the season with having a newborn son and things like that.
“I had thought that next season might be my last year now that I’ve got a family.
“But after speaking to the manager about his plans, I’ve decided to keep going for another couple of years.
“The club is moving forward and winning the cup probably took some folk by surprise a wee bit.
“It was a good season overall and we want to try to build on it.”
Morning dips get Maclean ready for next season
For Maclean, whose day job is as a groundworker, the commitment to football doesn’t diminish during the close season and he’s already busy preparing for next term.
He added: “It’s quite hard physically with training and playing and then going to work the next day and having to lay slabs and lock block and stuff like that.
“The job I do is quite manual so I need to try to look after myself.
“I was away swimming in Loch Ness at 6am (on Tuesday) to try to help the muscles and I’ve also got an ice tub in the garden to help with recovery.”
Maclean signed for Nairn in 2015 and his new contract puts him in contention to be awarded a testimonial.
He said: “I’m not somebody that would expect one and when I first signed for the club it was never something I would have expected to get close to.
“Callum Maclean, Kenny Mackenzie and myself are all coming into our 10th year with the club.
“If a testimonial happens that would be great – even a joint one or something would be really special.”
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