Youth academy graduate Russell, who turned 19 earlier this month, has been one of the Ton’s outstanding performers this term.

His displays have attracted the attention of suitors down south, with the likes of Swansea and Sunderland monitoring his progress with interest.

Although his current development squad deal runs until the summer of 2016, Russell looks set to be rewarded for his fine form. Speaking exclusively to the Tele, he said: “The manager recently pulled me aside in training and told me the chairman would be speaking to me.

“He spoke with me on the phone and told me I’d been doing well and that he was going to offer me a new contract. He asked for me and my dad to go down and meet with him, just to say what he said to me to my dad.

“We’ve just not had the chance yet, so I couldn’t say what the deal will be.

“But I think it will be an extension because I’m still on the development squad [contract] — I think that will be scrapped but I’m not 100 per cent — and then it will maybe be another two years or something.” When asked if he would be happy to commit his future to the club, Russell admitted he was keen but added that he was in no great rush with another year of his current deal still to run.

He said: “I would. I’m happy here, but I’m not overly bothered at the moment really, because I’ve got another year.” It will come as little surprise that the club are attempting to tie down one of their prize assets, with Saturday’s stellar display at East End Park a case in point.

Russell was a thorn in Dunfermline’s side all afternoon.

As well as crossing for Lee Kilday to score, he also completed the four-goal thrashing with a sensational strike, his second in his last seven games.

The left-back added: “For my goal, I picked up the ball and felt I was quick enough to get past the first man.

The [next defender] seemed to drop off and I just hit it really.

“I took it to the side and saw the keeper a wee bit off his line and just went for it.

“I would like to have a wee look back at it — but it doesn’t actually matter to me how they go in as long as they go in.

“I was chuffed with Saturday’s game. We never looked as though we were going to lose.

“I would agree it was our best performance of the season so far.

“Even going into the game, I thought everybody was up for it.

“We go into every game as if we’re going to win it and I felt we had a wee bit extra on Saturday to go and win it.

“It doesn’t matter [that Stranraer and Forfar also won].

“The way I see it is if we keep going out and playing well and winning, we’ll have a good chance of winning the league anyway.”