Charlie Gilmour reckons his loan spell at Cove Rangers has helped him rediscover his love for football.
Gilmour struggled for game-time at St Johnstone last season, in a team which only stayed up by virtue of winning the Premiership play-off.
The former Arsenal youngster was brought in by Cove manager Jim McIntyre this summer and has been a regular in the side during their debut Championship campaign.
“I have always said I don’t care where I am, England or Scotland, I just want to play football,” said Gilmour. “If I’m playing football, I’m happy.
“I don’t care what standard it is. I just want to play football, enjoy myself and get that match-day feeling.
“There were spells last year where I was training the full week knowing there was nothing to look forward to. It’s so much better now.
“The gaffer wants us to play good football – possession-based – and that suits my style. I can’t fault anything.”
Cove were beaten 3-0 by Raith Rovers on Saturday, bringing their four-game unbeaten run to an abrupt halt.
Back-to-back wins had lifted Cove away from trouble and Gilmour hopes the result does not take the shine off their recent form.
‘Raith were on it and we weren’t’
“I just didn’t feel like we were on it at all,” said Gilmour. “Personally and as a team, it wasn’t good enough.
“Raith were good but it was one of them days where they were on it and we weren’t.
“Before the Arbroath game, we were joint-bottom and we get two wins then we’re three points off the play-offs. It’s a tight league.
“If you looked back at the start of those three games (Arbroath, Dundee and Raith), would you have taken six points beforehand? Probably.
“The last game is always what you end up thinking about and how you’ve been doing. Next week we could be on a high again.”
Gilmour has reaped the benefits of playing with Connor Scully and Blair Yule in the middle of the park, two Cove favourites who get through a power of running during a game.
They also have Fraser Fyvie to come back into the fold after injury and veteran Iain Vigurs as another option in midfield.
“It helps when you’ve got runners in front of you,” said Gilmour. “They’re so good on the ball too and give me so many options when I have the ball.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. Even before when I was playing with (Fraser) Fyvie and (Iain) Vigurs – I don’t mind who I’m playing with. They’re all good players.
“I prefer playing deeper. I like getting the ball from defence and starting attacks. I feel like that’s my game, where I can get on the ball as much as I can and look for openings from a deeper position.”
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