Cove Rangers striker Rory McAllister made his name as one of the most prolific marksmen in the SPFL for Peterhead.
However, it will be business as usual for him tomorrow afternoon when he returns to Balmoor, playing in front of his former fans for the first time.
Cove face their north-east neighbours in their third Premier Sports Cup game, on the back of a 3-0 defeat at Hearts on Tuesday night.
McAllister was signed by John Sheran, Cove’s most successful manager and current director of football, during his time in charge of Peterhead in 2011. He scored 198 goals in his eight-and-a-half years at Balmoor.
“It will be good to go back,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be playing, put in a decent performance and not get too many boos from the crowd that gets in.
“I’ve got to back and do what I have to do for Cove. That’s where the priorities are now.
“It’s business as usual. We have to try get a result and get some fitness out of the game. We need to get some momentum going into the Falkirk game.”
Cove have started the season with a depleted side. They have managed to name just three outfield players on the bench in their two games, including teenage defender Rhys Thomas.
“I think everybody is going to have this at some point of the season, with the amount of testing you have to do,” added McAllister. “You’ve just got to try get through it.
“I’ve been quite fortunate in that I’ve not picked it up. We just need games and training to get fitness up. Fitness is more the key just now.
“It’s hard playing in that game (Hearts) when you’ve had a pre-season and games. When you’ve had no pre-season and no games, it’s a big ask.”
One of the new arrivals at the Balmoral Stadium this summer was Iain Vigurs. The former Ross County and Caley Thistle midfielder is a familiar face to McAllister, with the pair playing in the same Inverness team together as teenagers.
He added: “We came through at a similar time and shared digs a couple of times, I know Iain pretty well.
“I used to travel through to Inverness with him on a Monday and then on a Friday home. He’s still a really good player and a good lad as well. I think he’ll do well for us.
“You’ve always got to improve. If you’re not going to improve, you’re going backwards. That’s the way I look at it. You’ve got to prove you’re up to the standard or you’ll get left behind.”