It has been a tough start to life at Fleetwood Town but Declan McManus has no regrets about leaving Aberdeen.
The 21-year-old will be back at his old stomping ground on Saturday when he represents Scotland under-21s in their Euro 2017 qualifier against France at Pittodrie.
McManus netted on his competitive debut for Fleetwood in a 1-1 draw against Southend but has been restricted to substitute appearances recently.
The former Dons player said it was a difficult decision to leave Aberdeen, the club he had been with since the age of eight, but believes he has made the right call.
He said: “I never really wanted to leave Aberdeen. but I thought at the time it was the best thing for my career.
“That was nothing negative towards Aberdeen but, as a young boy trying to break into that team, it was going to be tough.
“I thought I would go down south and challenge myself and if I do well then the sky is the limit.
“I just decided that is was the best move for me and my family at the time, so I took it.
“I spoke to Derek McInnes and one of the options was to go out on loan again.
“I didn’t want to do that as I felt I would have been back at square one and at the same stage as I was last season when I went on loan to Morton.
“I wanted to play for Aberdeen but I was realistic and I knew that the likes of Adam Rooney, David Goodwillie and Niall McGinn were in front of me in the pecking order.
“I sized it up realistically and knew I was not going to play for Aberdeen or at least play a big part for the club.”
When McManus returns from international duty next week, he will be eager to impress new manager Steven Pressley.
The former Falkirk and Coventry manager was unveiled as the new Fleetwood manager yesterday, replacing Graham Alexander, who was sacked at the weekend.
McManus has already been getting some information on his new manager from former Falkirk players Jay Fulton and Stephen Kingsley, adding: “Every player starts afresh under a new manager and I’m looking forward to it.
“Hopefully I can impress him and keep my place in the team.
“I’ve never come across him before. I’ve not even spoken to him but I’ve heard good things so I’m looking forward to it.
“He’s done well and his time with Falkirk playing the young boys sticks out most. Obviously, Jay and Stephen were both there.
“I’ve only heard good things and his track record with playing the younger lads speaks for itself.
“I’m looking forward to him getting in and training and getting to know him and hopefully playing games.
“I felt sorry for Graham Alexander as he is a lovely guy and a great manager, but football is just so cutthr”A couple of weeks ago we had some bad results and it’s maybe been blown out of proportion because there are so many games in such a short space of time.
“Graham said that when he spoke to us after he’d been let go. He said it wasn’t that anyone had done anything wrong, it just happens in football.
“No one at the club expected it, I don’t think even Graham did. But that’s the nature of football.
“If you don’t get results then someone has to carry the can and it’s usually the manager.”