County defender Dan Cowan has signed an improved and extended 18-month contract to keep him at Edgeley Park until May 2019.
Dan has made 33 appearances for the Hatters this season since making the short journey from Macclesfield Town last summer.
Manager Jim Gannon said: “The negotiations with Dan where pretty straightforward. We wanted to reward him for both the progress he has made with us and also financially respect the further commitment he wants to make in achieving success with ourselves.”
Jim says Dan also shares the club’s ambitions to move towards full-time status. He said: “We are entering a period when a lot of negotiations are taking place and those talks are complicated by the potential changing structures at the club. Each negotiation will have to take into account the qualities each player brings to the club currently but also their commitment to the developing training/coaching programme at the club.
“Dan is amongst several first team players wishing to join additional training sessions and continue to commit further as structures develop at the club over the coming years. He epitomises the type of player I feel is critical to our ongoing success and growth. He is young, improving, willing to learn and wants to commit more and more time to football.
“His high standard of athleticism and growing defensive ability mark him out as one of our most improved players and I trust that, with his current attitude and increased commitment, he will develop further. He’s a pleasure to work with and I’m looking forward to working with him over an extended period of time. It will be exciting to see how he develops through the next few seasons.”
Dan says he was delighted to sign his extended contract and is looking forward to the challenges ahead. He told County’s official website: “Jim has been a huge influence on me over the last six months and I feel my performances have been improving and I can go even further under Jim – and Stockport County is a great place to play football!
“I treat football as my first job, my second employment is not the priority. For many part-time players, their 9-5 routine is hard to accommodate but my job is flexible so moving towards full-time football works perfectly for me, it’s what I want to do.”
Dan has been one of County’s most consistent performers this season, filling the void left by the injury to Sam Minihan, but he always believed in his own ability. He said: “I know my capabilities, I was in and out at Macclesfield but I just needed games. My dad is my biggest supporter and he agreed that I needed to play more regularly, and that’s what I’ve done here at County.
“I feel I can only get better under Jim, he’s very tactical, a good man-manager and he puts on really good, tactical sessions, so I’m always improving and he’s given me confidence to develop in the right way.”
Dan started his football career as a youngster at Buxton and New Mills, before joining Macclesfield Town and making more than 40 appearances for the Silkmen.
Congratulations on your new deal, Dan, from everyone at Edgeley Park and we look forward to seeing even more of you over the next 18 months.
