Caulker deal thrills McCann
NEIL McCANN last night hailed Steven Caulker as one of the signings of the season after the former England international made a shock switch to Dundee. The 26-year-old former Tottenham defender, who was a free agent after leaving QPR last month, signed an 18-month deal at the Dens Park club yesterday. Caulker has battled addiction to alcohol and gambling and last summer admitted his situation
was so bad he contemplated taking his own life. After he accepted the chance of a fresh start at Dundee, McCann tipped Caulker to fill the void left by Jack Hendry, who joined Celtic last month for £1.5million. ‘I think it’s one of the best pieces of business of the season, never mind January, I really do,’ said McCann. ‘I’m that excited about it. ‘We’ve just sold Jack Hendry to Celtic and I’m really pleased to do this bit of business. We’ve lost a class player and I wanted Steven to come in and possibly fill that void and help the boys who are here. I can’t wait for him to start.’ Caulker, who could make his debut in tomorrow’s visit of Motherwell in the Scottish Cup fifth round, started his career at Spurs and had loans at Yeovil, Bristol City and Swansea, where he helped Brendan Rodgers’ side finish 11th in the Premier League in season 2011-12. He joined Cardiff in a club-record £8m deal in July 2013 but moved to QPR after the Welsh side’s relegation to the English Championship and was loaned out to Southampton and Liverpool. Caulker made four appearances for QPR this season, the last being a 1-1 draw with Barnsley in the Championship in September. McCann revealed that the troubled defender, who won one cap for England under Roy Hodgson, had more lucrative offers from elsewhere but turned them down to kick-start his career in Scotland. ‘Clearly this is not about finances,’ said the Dundee boss. ‘He could have earned so much money going elsewhere. He had lots of offers on the table. ‘But I sold myself, the team, the club, the environment — that he can come up here for a fresh, new experience. ‘I want Steven to get back playing football and feeling like he belongs somewhere again. He has so much ability and so much to offer. I want him to be a big player for us. And I want him to enjoy himself again.’