Cork City Football Club is delighted to confirm that Dan Murray has committed to the club for the 2013 season. The 30 year old, who returned to the club last season after a spell with Shamrock Rovers, extended his stay with City yesterday afternoon, and City manager Tommy Dunne said he was delighted to have Murray on board again for 2013: “Dan has made a huge commitment to be with the club again for the 2013 season, and I am thrilled to have him on board. He had a bad time with injuries last season, but he is moving a lot better now in training and I think he is much more like the Dan Murray of old.” “Dan’s circumstances have changed and he is working now, but he is free from injury and he still has a lot to offer the club. I have no doubt that he will be putting every centre half that we have at the club under pressure for their place in the side; in fact the one thing he said to me when he was signing was that he is not here to make up the numbers and I don’t think you can ask for more than that from a man of his experience.” “What he went through last year with injuries was not pleasant, and without people even knowing about it, he played through a nasty injury and did everything that was asked of him without a word of complaint. When I asked him to play he was prepared to take painkilling injections and do whatever it took to play for the club and for me that is the definition of professionalism and a guy with an appetite for the game. There is a reason he has won titles both here at Cork City and in Dublin and has played so many times in Europe, and that is because he has the hunger and is prepared to do what it takes to play.” Murray, who has previously captained the club to League, FAI Cup and Setanta Sports Cup titles, told CorkCityFC.ie that he was looking forward to the season ahead and was upbeat about the club’s prospects: “Last season was disappointing as I didn’t play as much as I would have liked, but I am over the injury now and I am really pleased to be signing back with the club for the coming season.” “I think we are in a good position going into the season. The squad is a lot more settled than it was last year. We have been together a lot longer than this time last season, when you had players coming in a lot closer to the season, so I think that will help. Everyone has learned a lot from last year and we are all really looking forward to the season ahead. It will probably be an even tougher season, but I think we see ourselves as being well capable of challenging for the top four, which is probably our next target now.”
12th February, 2013