Cove Rangers defender Daniel Higgins reckons he is reaping the benefits of branching out on his own for the first time.
Higgins, who joined League 2 leaders Cove in the summer, moved away from Glasgow for the first time to join Paul Hartley’s side.
It is his first time outside full-time football after stints with Dundee and Kilmarnock and after a month of travelling up to Aberdeen for training and games, Higgins made the decision to up sticks and relocate.
He has been a regular under Hartley this season, featuring both at the back and in midfield, as the Aberdeen side soared to the top of Scotland’s fourth tier.
Higgins said: “I’m away from friends and family but it’s more about getting back to playing every week.
“I travelled for the first month or so and it’s a lot of driving on straight roads and average speed cameras.
“It was a big decision and I talked it through with my family but it seemed like the right thing for me. If you want to be a footballer it’s something you put up with and at 21, it’s a new experience for me and I’m enjoying it.
“I’ve had a hard couple of years – you lose the love for football and that was the most important thing.
“I’ve got my first full-time job outside football and the days are longer. But you’re meeting different people and experiencing different things.
“Full-time football is something I aspire to get back towards but it doesn’t forever. It’s good to get an eye for life outside of it.”
The 21-year-old made his debut against former club Dundee in the Betfred Cup in July and has featured both in defence and midfield at Cove.
They return to league action tonight at the Balmoral Stadium, taking on Albion Rovers with whom they drew 4-4 with in August.
Cove’s schedule has been somewhat disrupted of late, with them going without a fixture in two of the last three weekends.
Their elimination from the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup meant they did not have a game on October 12 and Rovers’ Scottish Cup replay with Fort William on Saturday forced their league meeting to be shunted back three days.
Higgins added: “It’s been about four weeks since our last home game – you just want to keep playing. Weeks off give you chance to rest but you want to get back at it.
“We’ve had a disappointing couple of results but we’ve got a changing room full of boys that will be annoyed by that. They won’t accept it.
“The game down there was probably our most disappointing performance, so we need to put in a strong one tonight.
“We’re in a good position just now but it’s a long season. A lot of teams will be fighting it out and we can’t get ahead of ourselves.”