Harry Milne gets the chance today to return to where it all began, albeit in Partick Thistle red and yellow rather than Cove Rangers blue.
Milne played a huge part in Cove’s journey through the leagues, helping them to three promotions in four years.
He bade farewell to the club in the summer, opting to take the opportunity of full-time football for the first time with the Jags.
Understandably there is still a huge amount of gratitude from Milne, for the role Cove played in his journey, and an appreciation of what they achieved together.
“They gave me the platform to come into a competitive level of football and work my way up through the leagues, as Cove have done,” he said.
“You’ve seen guys that have come up with Cove showing they belong at this level, guys like Connor Scully who’s having a cracking season.
“It’s not just for me; a lot of people have been on that journey, being part of successful teams and everyone wanting to go to the next level. It gave me a great platform to be where I am.
“Everyone will have different games they look forward to and this is obviously my first trip back up to the Balmoral since leaving.
“I still speak to some of the boys. We had a cracking group there and it was tough to leave when I did, especially off the back of a promotion.”
The Cove core and Connor Scully
Milne was part of core of regulars at Cove, who stayed with the club from the Highland League right up until Championship promotion had been sealed.
Stuart McKenzie, Scott Ross, Blair Yule, Ryan Strachan, Connor Scully and Mitch Megginson were others who have tasted repeated success with the Aberdeen side.
Scully has enjoyed his moment in the sun this season and spoke this week about welcoming Milne back to the Balmoral Stadium.
The two shared a unique double last month, with Scully bagging a brace against Queen’s Park on a Friday night and Milne matching him against Dundee the following day.
“I was watching the Queen’s Park game and I popped him a wee text, telling him he was on fire,” said Milne. “He said something along the lines of ‘same from you tomorrow’ and I managed to get a couple too, but it was a bittersweet day with us getting beat.
“There’s been a lot of players in and out of Cove over the years and for a long time it was Connor, myself, Blair and Mitch who were the constants. We stayed and continued to get better.
“You see the season he and a lot of the players are having at Cove – it just shows they’re comfortable at this level and deserve to be here.
“It’s testament to people’s character. It would be easy to stay in the Highland League, considering they’ve got full-time jobs and other responsibilities.
“But the fact they want to get better and keep improving is great.”
Life in Glasgow has suited Milne, who found full-time football at a perfect stage in his life.
He had just finished his studies and was not in long-term full-time employment, therefore paving the way to try something new.
Endearing himself to the Thistle fans
The 26-year-old has clearly made a strong impression on the Partick fanbase too. He has twice won the club’s player of the month award, adding the November honour to August’s, and is by no means finished on his journey.
“I’ve managed to make a good impact on the supporters and people at the club early on, which is good,” added Milne.
“It was my focus to hit the ground running, especially considering it was my first year full-time. I wanted to show I deserved to be at this level.
“It’s a good squad we’ve got here. Everyone wants to do well and get to the next step. That helps when everyone is striving for the common goal.
“I was coming to the end of my contract at Cove and there was never anything sinister about the way I left. A lot of people at Cove encouraged me to make the move and challenge myself, which I’m thankful for.
“Everyone wants to play at the highest level they can. I would love to play in the Scottish Premiership, challenge myself against the best players and play in the best stadiums.
“It could be a really big month for us. It’ll go right to the wire I imagine and we need to keep putting in good performances, picking up points, to make sure we’re at the right end.”