Deal or no deal: Adam to retire if Dundee fail to offer him contract
Dens park captain says he will hang up his boots on illustrious career if he receives no new terms
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HARLIE Adam has conceded he will likely retire if he’s not offered a new deal by Dundee or outside of Scotland. The Dee captain, a native of the city, insists he only wants to play at Dens Park next year, admitting any decision to release him from the club would leave him with his own to make in the summer.
A lifelong fan, Adam, 36, led the team to promotion last season, but is likely to suffer the heartbreak of relegation this time around, with Dundee facing the almost impossible task of overhauling a six-point, eight-goal gap to St Johnstone in the final two games.
“Would I consider playing on anywhere else?,” Adam, when asked about his future, said. “No I don’t think so, not in Scotland.
“If there was nothing else, then I would look to retire and go into coaching or management.
“I only want to play here and if that is not to be then I have a decision to make.”
Dundee’s almost certain relegation will hurt Adam more than most. When he returned to his hometown after a successful spell down south - which saw him make more than 200 Premier League appearances for Blackpool, Liverpool and Stoke City
- he made no secret of his desperation to restore the Dee to the top flight. He wasn’t shy in admitting there were “tears” when he did just that, playing a pivotal role in the play-off win over Kilmarnock.
But his Dundee dream has quickly turned into a nightmare. They’ve gone down with a whimper, winning more games against League One opponents than Premiership ones since the start of December (two to one) and never looked like catching St Johnstone, despite the Perth side’s struggles.
“We have a big summer ahead for our club, there will be big decisions to make,” Adam, who played 26 times for Scotland, said. “What way the club will go I don’t know and we will have to see what happens in the next few weeks.
“Will I stay on? It’s not my decision. This is my boyhood club and I would love to be here next season but it’s not about me, it’s about what is best for the club moving forward.
“If that is for me to leave and give other boys opportunities, then no problem.”
He added: “It’s been a great two years and I have loved it but it is up to the owners and whoever the manager will be what happens next.
This is my boyhood club and I would love to be here next season
“We will make that decision in a few weeks, it’s been a tough season for everyone on and off the pitch. It’s so tough to take. It’s not about me, I have had a wonderful career, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity from James McPake to come in and help the team. I was able to do that and we won promotion.
“It’s not the way I would like to leave if that’s what happens, but we will need to wait and see.”
As is so often the case, when you’re down, you’re really down. Adam found that out for himself in Saturday’s tame 2-0 loss to St Mirren, which was, realistically, Dundee’s last chance to make a fist of survival. With less than five minutes played, he inexplicably played the ball across the face of his own goal to tee up Alex Greive perfectly for the opener.
There was no way back for the Dee after that, with Curtis Main putting the icing on Stephen Robinson’s cake in the second-half.
“I take responsibility for the first goal,” Adam said. “You come away from home and in the first ten or 15 minutes you try to keep it tight. I have tried to be clever and play it back to the goalie but it was never on and I should have just cleared. I accept what I have done.”
While it was despair for Adam and Dundee, there was joy for Main. And more than a tinge of relief. His strike was his first in the league after a frustrating season, one which he hopes paves the way for better days ahead.
“With a full pre-season under our belts and some help with recruitment as well I think you will see a different St Mirren,” Main said. “It’ll be a challenging pre-season for sure but it will be worth it.”