JOHN HERRON has paid tribute to the Pars fans and said they were a major factor in his decision to stay at the club.

The 22-year-old midfielder’s loan from Blackpool, which was due to expire at the end of the month, was extended until the end of the season on Tuesday giving him peace of mind that he doesn’t have to return to the Seasiders.

In November, Herron told Press Sport of his desire to stay with Allan Johnston’s team and that he did not want to go back to his parent club and he is delighted to have his East End stay agreed – even if it has meant a drop in wages.

The former Celtic youngster said that money wasn’t an issue when it came to his decision and said: “I took a wage cut to come here but it’s not an issue; the main thing for me is to play. There were a lot of clubs who made contact from England and Scotland but the main thing was to sit down with the gaffer because I’d rather stay here than go anywhere else.

“Maybe it played on my mind in the last couple of weeks as talks have been ongoing. I love it here and I love the fans; this is a massive club. I’ve been at big clubs before but here it is mindblowing and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“The fans have been brilliant, especially at Raith Rovers, when they stayed to the end of the match. They’ve been fantastic, especially when they’re singing your name, and they are one of the reasons I wanted to stay.”

After injury disrupted the early stages of his Pars career, Herron has missed just one of Dunfermline’s last 10 matches and is relishing the chance to play at the heart of Johnston’s side.

He continued: “The story of the last two or three years for me has been wee niggles but I’ve been able to go and play. We’ve played with two holding midfielders and I’ve liked my new role; I’ve felt comfortable alongside Nat (Wedderburn) or Rhys (McCabe). Against Raith, with the standards I set myself, it was maybe not one of my best games but I felt I did a good job for the team. Sometimes you’ve got to put the team before yourself.

“I’m playing games and it’s been great, especially as the manager allows you to express yourself and make mistakes, and if you do you can learn from them. We’ve got a great bunch of lads and we’re all fighting for each other.

“You can see the way we’re playing that we’re giving 100 per cent and putting everything into it. The confidence was always there and nothing has changed; we still have the same mindset of making a play-off push.

“We’re on a good run and it’s good to be involved but we’re critical of ourselves and feel a few of the draws we’ve had should have been wins. We’ve got a system that we’re comfortable with, which is credit to the manager.”