Stewart hints at imminent Dundee exit

FORWARD Greg Stewart has hinted he may have to leave Dundee to fulfil his footballing ambitions.

And the 26-year-old, who has just one year left on his Dens Park deal, admits he’s flattered to be linked with “top” clubs Rangers and Leeds United.

Stewart rejected the offer of a contract extension from the Dark Blues board earlier in the summer, and with no new deal on the table the attacker looks all set to leave the club.

It remains to be seen whether that will be before the close of this summer’s transfer window, though, with the club slapping a £1.5 million price tag on his head.

Either way it’s almost certain that, by the time next summer comes around, Stewart, who can to talk to other clubs about a free transfer in January, will be heading for pastures new.

When asked about the links to recently-promoted Gers, who Stewart has supported since he was a boy, and Leeds, he said: “Sometimes I think ‘wow’ — three years ago I was working at Grangemouth and now top teams like Leeds United and Rangers are interested in me.

“Put it this way, I don’t want to go back to the oil refinery any time soon. I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think about it.

“I want to be somewhere I can play my best football. Whether it is at Dundee we will just have to wait and see.

“I have ambitions, just like most people. I want to play at the highest level I possibly can.

“I have to keep doing what I’ve done. I won’t be letting my standards slip.”

When asked whether his new wide role brings out the best in him as a player, Stewart was brutally honest.

“I do feel that sometimes being out there doesn’t bring out the best in me,” he said.

“That’s because I have to work that hard. It is not somewhere I am used to playing but I am working harder on the training pitch to adapt.”

In a candid interview from the club’s Austrian training base, Stewart Greg Stewart enjoying training with his Dundee team-mates in Austria.