Queen of the South captain Josh Todd hopes the Doonhamers can make a “real challenge” in League One next season.
The 29-year-old was one of three players to sign up for next season on Monday along with young keeper Charlie Cowie and striker Kyle Doherty from Clyde.
Todd has signed a one-year deal and thinks the club is heading in the right direction under Marvin Bartley.
He said: “I’m delighted to have signed for another year. Last year was disappointing for us all but we finished strongly and just fell short of the play-offs.
“The gaffer has been great since he came in and hopefully we can make a real challenge this time around.
“I love the club and know what it means to the fans, there are some great people around the place so it’s good to be coming back.”
Todd also reflected on last season which saw the South narrowly miss out on the play-offs after a strong end to the season.
He added: “I think last season we were just very inconsistent. I heard that quite a bit and rightly so. We had high highs and low lows. We weren’t as steady as we should have been so that bit us on the backside.
“We know we should have made the play-offs, it was just down to us as players because we never produced week in week out. We maybe only did it once every two or three weeks and it didn’t get us over the line.
“The manager inherited a different squad but he implemented different stuff. You do get a new manager buzz and he was able to keep that going until the end of the season because the run we went on was pretty good.”
The League One side also added striker Doherty on a two-year deal from Clyde for an undisclosed fee this week.
The 21-year-old said: “I’m really pleased to be joining Queens and to be getting a chance at full-time football. Having spoken to the manager, I’m looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead. Queens are a good club with a lot of potential so I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to get started.”
Young goalie Cowie also signed a deal with the club this week.
The 19-year-old, who was loaned to West of Scotland side Gartcairn as they won the First Division title last season, has been with the club since he was 11.
He said: “I’m delighted to have signed for my local team again. Queens have been a big part of my life. Although I was out on loan last season, I did play some games for the first team. It was great experience and I hope we can do well this year.”
Centre-back Kyle McClelland joined on a season long loan from Hibs on Wednesday afternoon.
Former Falkirk midfielder Craig McGuffie has also joined and Lee Connelly will be back after he committed his future to the club with a one-year deal.
