Dundalk FC have announced that Brian Gartland has signed a new contract which will take the centre-back into his 10th season with the club. After arriving from Portadown in the summer of 2013, the 35-year-old has gone on to collect 16 winners medals with the Lilywhites as well as featuring in both of the club’s Europa League group stage campaigns in 2016 and 2020. His 2021 campaign lasted just six minutes after he sustained a knee injury against Shamrock Rovers in April but with his future now secure, ‘Garts’ said he was looking forward to linking up with head coach Stephen O’Donnell again and pulling on a white shirt in front of the Lilywhites faithful.
I’m delighted to be staying here and going into my 10th season at the club. There is nowhere else I wanted to be,
he told dundalkfc.com
Last year was one of the toughest years of my life, on and off the pitch. Mentally, it was so hard seeing where the club was going and because I had the injury, I felt helpless and couldn’t do anything about it. Thankfully, my recovery is going very well and with the new owners and management team, there is a real buzz around the club again.
As someone who lives in town, Gartland is well placed to gauge the mood amongst Dundalk supporters and he fully understands the wave of optimism around the club going into 2022
Like everyone else, I’m so excited about where the club is going,” he said. “It feels that a reboot is taking place and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of that and being part of the journey.
