Daniel Higgins could not turn down the chance to work with Paul Hartley again at Cove Rangers.
The former Dundee youngster, who was given his senior debut by Hartley at Dens Park, became a Cove player on Tuesday and was thrown straight into the starting line-up against the Dark Blues a day later.
He was released by Kilmarnock in the summer and when Hartley called to sell Cove to him, the opportunity to reunite was too good to ignore.
Higgins said: “I spoke to Paul on Monday and got it all wrapped up quite quickly. I was straight in playing. I hadn’t even met the lads. It was no bother – they were brilliant with me.
“I was at Dundee with Paul and I’d mentioned it to him. I saw he came up here and I knew the club’s ambition. He sold it to me and I wanted to get back playing football every week. It was probably the best move for me.
“I know him well – he gave me my debut and he knows what I’m best suited to. He’s got a lot of experience in the game, so I can definitely learn for him.
“I want to kick on and enjoy my football and see where it goes. The club’s ambition and the way Paul wants to play football was the biggest factor. I hadn’t really seen the place before I came up but Paul was telling me about it. It’s one of the best in Scotland – better than some in the Championship and even the Premiership with the facilities they have.”
The 21-year-old made four appearances for Dundee before joining Kilmarnock in the summer of 2017. An ex-Celtic trainee, Higgins struggled for games at Rugby Park and spent time on loan at League 1 sides Stranraer and Airdrieonians.
However, the learning experience of working with established Premiership players and Scotland boss Steve Clarke was something he greatly appreciated.
He added: “I was a young player who came into a squad that got off to a terrible start, looking at relegation. It just never really happened. Steve Clarke then came in and the club had the best two years in their history, so you can’t really complain. The squad was performing brilliantly.
“I kind of fell out of love with it, not playing and that was the main thing. Getting back to enjoying my football. I was training with the first-team all the time and learned a lot – Steve is a top-class manager. There were international players, like Youssuff Mulumbu, Kirk Broadfoot and Chris Burke, guys that have played at the highest level. It was a good learning curve and something I’ve learned from.”
