The 35-year-old midfielder penned a new one-year-deal last week and has gone straight into training to ensure he is as fit as he has ever been for the upcoming Championship campaign.

Murray started five of Dumbarton’s first seven league matches last season before picking up a nasty injury against Queen of the South and after that he struggled to break back into Ian Murray’s starting 11.

The former St Mirren man has no complaints with his omission from the team, due to the form of his replacements, however, the holding midfielder is hopeful a good pre-season can put him straight back into his manager’s plans, he said: “I was disappointed with how my own season worked out last year — I was getting a game but then got a bad injury and was in a stookie and plaster for weeks which really hampered me.

“I was out injured for five or six weeks — the boys who were playing did really well and the manager is really fair that way.

“If someone comes into the team and takes their chance he will keep them in the team.

“Kirky wasn’t in the team at the start of the season but he came in and was brilliant.” While Murray is looking forward to the campaign starting, he knows the next few weeks will be crucial as he looks to get himself up to speed for his 19th season in senior football: “I have been a professional for 18 years now and the most important thing is to avoid injury during pre-season.

“Getting fully fit over pre-season is so important to get you through the rest of the season and the more players we have fit and available, the better for Dumbarton.” While St Mirren’s record appearance holder spent half of his career representing the Buddies in the second flight of Scottish football, he also played for the Paisley side in the top flight for seven years — making him Dumbarton’s most experienced player — which could prove crucial next season in visits to Easter Road, Tynecastle and Ibrox.

But while his team mates lack the experience of visiting Scotland’s top grounds, Murray is confident the squad has the ability to take on the giants from Edinburgh and Ally McCoist’s men.

He continued: “It will be a really good league to play in with the likes of Rangers, Hibs and Hearts.

“A lot of people are saying it will be a better league than the top league next year and there are some really big clubs going to be playing in the Championship but the boys here have proved they are good enough to take on those teams.

“Last season when we played Aberdeen they were one of the top teams in the country — they were second in the league at the time but we more than matched them and McGinn had a great chance late on to draw the game level but that is just one of those things — he had a brilliant season.

“We also did well against Dundee United and we know we have real strength in the squad, obviously I have not been here long but this has got to be one of the best Dumbarton squads for a while.” And although Murray has started working for his coaching badges he is hoping to remain part of that Sons playing squad for a while yet He concluded: “I have done my B licence and would one day look at coaching but I know I can still play for another couple of years and I want to play with Dumbarton for as long as I can.”