CALLUM MORRIS says that support from the Pars fans helped convince him to stick around – and now he wants to thank them with the title.

The popular 27-year-old put pen to paper on a new one-year contract last Tuesday to end speculation over where his future lay when his short-term contract was due to expire at the end of the month.

Morris, whose first spell with Dunfermline ended after two years in the summer of 2014, has become a key player for boss Allan Johnston since returning in January’s transfer window, making 16 appearances before a knee injury ruled him out of the club’s final two games.

His fine form attracted interest from other clubs, including in the Scottish Premiership, but he told Press Sport: “I was in the fortunate position where there was (interest from elsewhere) which is great because it’d be worse if there wasn’t. It kind of makes this decision even better for myself because it’s not like I’ve just gone, ‘I’ve got to settle for whatever’; I’ve been away, spoke to people and made the decision on what was available and what was happening.

“I would rather be here on a positive season pushing to win the title, with the very minimum being part of the play-offs.

“I want to be part of that and part of taking the club back to the SPL basically. It’s never an easy decision because you never know what’s going to happen; there’s other things on the table and other people are saying this and that, but it was this week really that I thought this is what I want to do, regardless of what else is going on.

“It’s the right fit for me, the right fit for my family. I’m over the moon and the club have been nothing but brilliant since I came back, and that includes yourselves, the fans, the staff, the players and people out on the street who will come and speak to you.

“That does mean a lot when you’re welcomed back with open arms and embraced so I can’t thank them enough and that could just be the deciding factor. But I want to be part of something special for the club; I think we were on the cusp of that when I was here first time but, obviously, things went on behind the scenes which put a halt to that.

“Coming off the back of last season – although we just missed out on the play-offs – was so positive and just being around the club, and getting a feel for how it is now and what direction it’s going in, has really sold it to me.”

Morris continued: “It was good to have a good run-in and get so close (to the play-offs) but that doesn’t mean anything; we need to get into the play-offs and try to win that title, and that’s what we’re going to do next season. There’s nothing else in mind. Looking back on it now, I think from the time I was at the club, we’ve massively underachieved. There was a lot of good performances but points on the board weren’t as good as what I wanted and what other people wanted, and we need to put that right.

“I wouldn’t be saying we’re underachieving if I didn’t believe it and didn’t believe there’s more in this squad and more to give. We’ve got to build on that and create something that has the legs to go the season and really push hard to be up and around it, be clinical in our work and professional about things. I believe we can win the league if we do that and it’s exciting times. I’m glad to be part of it.”