Dumbarton boss Stevie Aitken is hoping to tie up Greek-Cypriot star Dimitris Froxylias on a longer-term deal after an impressive start to life with the Sons.

The 24-year-old has come into his own in recent weeks, scoring two in his last four appearances and showing his pedigree as he comes to terms with the hustle and bustle of the Championship.

Froxylias has only signed a deal with Dumbarton until January though, and Aitken is hoping that he can ward off any bigger clubs that may be eyeing a swoop for the forward by persuading him to sign an extension.

“He has bags of ability and you can see why he was the youngest player to ever play for AEK Athens in Europe at just 17,” said Aitken.

“He’s brought something different to us. He’s good on the ball and his set-plays are really good. He’s technically-gifted and he’s a real talent.

“He came in during pre-season and we couldn’t do anything financially at the time, and even when he did sign it was a case of him getting his fitness somewhere.

“He has been willing to sacrifice the money side to get playing, and it’s worked out well for both parties so far. We’ll look to keep that going and get him tied down as quickly as we can.

“The fear obviously is that he catches the eye of some of the bigger teams, but we’re used to that. We lost five players last year that did really well to teams in the same division.

“That’s just a fact of life. He’s keen to stay and we’re keen for him to stay as well, but when there’s agents involved it can be difficult.

“The player is enjoying his football though, and that’s the most important thing when a player comes to Dumbarton. Can we put a smile back on their face? He has that now.

“He was ready to board a plane back to Greece with nothing, so hopefully we can get the deal tied up, and we’ve got 12 or 13 weeks until January to discuss that with him.

“If he decides he wants to leave to try something else, that’s up to him and that’s football. But I would hope there is a wee element of recognition there that we gave him a chance and he might want to repay us.”

Aitken is hoping to keep up the momentum Dumbarton have built over the last few weeks tomorrow, but knows he will have a job on his hands against table-topping St Mirren.

“Since Jack has gone in he has recruited really well and he did brilliantly to keep them in the division,” he said. “They’ve kept that momentum going from last year and he recruited well in the summer again.

“They’re sitting top of the league and there is no doubt it will be a tough game. They have aspirations of winning the league and it’s a club that is geared up for the Premiership.

“We’ve got our own aims too though, and with it being at home we will be doing all we can to get the win.

“We have been building a wee bit of momentum, and even the Livingston game that we lost, we didn’t deserve to lose it.

“The second half was probably the best we’ve played all season, but we’ve still only lost one in the last seven, so it’s important to keep these runs going, and we’ve got another big game on Saturday.”