“I’m very pleased.

“I don’t think discussions took that long and as far as football contracts go – sometimes they can drag on. I’m very happy at the football club, my family is settled and as soon as the club approached myself and my agent to try get something sorted we were all keen to get it done and as soon as possible.

“I’m delighted to have it done.

“I think there’s so much to look forward to at the club and I feel like it’s going in the right direction.

“We’ve got the training ground coming next season and the stadium hopefully not too far after that.

“It’s something I’d love to be involved in and playing in the new stadium and I think it’s something that will keep and attract players as well as help and encourage the young lads through.

“There wasn’t too much thought to go into it. I’m very happy and love playing here and five more years of it was very appealing to me.

“I think goalkeepers are judged mainly on mistakes and I think I’ve contributed to winning the club plenty points, kept my consistency and limited my mistakes and I’d put that down to the confidence the staff have in me. Gordon Marshall has been brilliant with me, in relation to the sessions he puts on and the confidence he gives me has grown since I’ve been here.

“Hopefully I’ve got better seasons to come in me.

“No player wants to go through their career and sign the contract just because your family’s settled and your happy.

“Football is a short career and you want to win trophies.

“That has to be our goal going forward. We’ve got very close plenty of times since I’ve been here and I’m very confident in the next five years we can get plenty of silverware under our belts.

“We’ve got a few senior lads in the dressing room and hopefully I can be part of creating something. A dressing room is an important environment to create the success that happens on the pitch and we have that so it’s important we continue that.

“Every summer that I’ve been here we’ve lost a couple of key players and you have to try replace them.

“This season has seen the emergence of quite a few young players and although it’s still important to sign good players, it’s been the best season for bring youngsters through since I’ve been here. That will certainly help the squad for next season and I’m optimistic for the new campaign.

“When I first signed three years ago I had a good chat with the manager and what we spoke about is exactly what’s happened. He gives you the opportunity to play first team football, which is what I needed. He said, ‘Get yourself playing and show what you can do again.’ That’s exactly what I wanted to do, but I never imagined I’d be signing a five year contract at Aberdeen three years later.

“It’s been fantastic, I’ve loved every minute of it and the manager, Gordon Marshall and Tony Docherty have been great with me.

“I feel everyone at the club is pulling in the right direction.

“Without naming some of the other clubs, you don’t feel as one. Sometimes there’s the playing side of it then the owners, staff etc and it all feels very distant. Here you feel everyone’s approachable, everyone’s trying their hardest to get the club going forward so that’s a big pull for me. That’s what I want to be a part of.

“It is a great place to work. Yes there’s some Mondays after you’ve had a bad game and they are less enjoyable, but they are very few and far between and in general every day is a joy to walk through those doors. I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way.

“I’ve been at other clubs where people are dreading coming to training and you think ‘you’re a footballer, how can you not enjoy yourself?’ Sometimes it can become a job for some people, but I don’t think that’s ever the case here, especially for me. I’ve absolutely loved it and to commit my future to that it didn’t take me very long. I’m very much looking forward to it.

“If your family’s happy and you like living in the place you are that can only be good for you on the pitch as well.

“When I first arrived in Aberdeen I was sat in the hotel and it was raining for three days straight I did think to myself ‘What have I done?!’ We got through that and I began to see the grey granite had a bit of a sparkle to it.

“My family’s really happy here. I really enjoy the place.

“It’s a great place to live and a great football club to play for and I do love it here.

“I have so much supporter and warmth from the Aberdeen fans. I have taken to them and they have taken to me.”