BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Nat Wedderburn insists he is ready to put down roots at Dunfermline after tying the knot during the summer.
The towering 24-year-old has endured a journeyman career to date, turning out for Notts County, Hereford, Northampton, Corby Town, Cowdenbeath and Inverness Caledonia Thistle in the last eight years.
However, he reckons he has found a place to call home after ending his ill-fated stint in Inverness and returning to Fife with the Pars.
As well as pledging his future to Dunfermline, he made an altogether more serious commitment during the close season, saying ‘I do’ to partner, Emily, with whom he has two children.
He even missed the first week of pre-season due to their honeymoon in Barbados – however he is now back in Fife, and cannot see himself uprooting any time soon.
Wedderburn said: “Its a really exciting time in my life. I’ve just got married, we’ve two young kids, and I want to find a home, not just a football club.
“I want to be somewhere that I can stay for a good few seasons and really build a life. It is time to settle down, without that worry of where you will be the following season.
“I feel really settled, it’s a lovely place to bring up the children. My son, Roman, was actually born in Kirkcaldy – so we’ll be honorary Scots.
“I missed the first week of training because I was on my honeymoon in Barbados – so that was a little bit tough, trying to catch up with the rest of the boys.
“I did a little bit of training while I was away, a bit of running on the beach and things, but it is different working on your own than it is with the rest of the squad. Plus I don’t think the missus would have been very happy if I was away all the time!”
Wedderburn’s big day was a joyful finale to an otherwise miserable 12 months, with his switch from Cowdenbeath to Inverness last summer proving an ill-judged career move.
Promised a crack at the top flight by former Caley boss John Hughes, instead he was limited to 11 starts all season, with his last outing coming in a 2-1 Scottish Cup defeat against eventual winners Hibernian in March.
He rued: “I wasn’t playing as much as I would have liked and it is really important to be at a club where you feel wanted.
“When they made the effort to sign me, I certainly expected to play a lot more than I did and get an opportunity to prove myself.
“But that clearly didn’t work out and I have come to Dunfermline to play as regularly as I can.”
Nevertheless, he insists there is no reason why the Pars cannot mount their own bid for a top-flight berth, insisting a playoff place must be the target for the ambitious Fifers this term.
He added: “I’ve joined a massive club. I remember seeing that first-hand when I was at Cowdenbeath, the stadium was packed for the (2013/14) Championship playoff final, and it is only going to be more exciting now we are in the Championship.
“With the teams in the division – Falkirk, Dundee United, Hibs, Raith Rovers – the crowds are going to be big and the challenge will be there. But, given the size of the club, we should be challenging for those playoff spots.”
