Arbroath hero Bobby Linn is back enjoying his football again after shutting himself away following a ‘devastating’ end to last season.
The previous campaign, his testimonial year, was meant to be a celebration of his time at the Angus side; however, it ended in the cruellest way possible against Inverness at Gayfield.
After a gruelling 210 minutes without a goal in their Premiership play-off, Linn stepped up to take the Lichties‘ fourth penalty in the shootout.
Most would have backed the veteran to tuck the ball into the back of the net but Mark Ridgers guessed the right way.
That set Kirk Broadfoot up to convert the final shot, breaking Linn’s heart and brought Arbroath’s fairytale season crashing to a halt.
Bobby Linn relives ‘devastating’ penalty miss
The 36-year-old revealed he needed to shut himself away from the outside world after that night in May.
“That was devastating,” Linn said. “Anyone who knows me knows that was a tough weekend.
“I took a week off everything, pretty much. I needed to get my head right.
“I didn’t do anything, just spent time around my family.
“Then I got myself going again with my boxing and then into work and seeing people again.
“It was a difficult one. I think everybody felt it.
“That was in the past but we’re moving forward now.”
‘Sharper, leaner’ Linn
Linn feels that time off did him the world of good and he has now come back stronger than before.
He believes that is starting to show in his performances so far in preseason and in the Premier Sports Cup, where he bagged a stunning brace against FC Edinburgh.
Bobby Linns first goal today 🤯
If you think that one’s good, stay tuned for the second. That will be in the Vlog tomorrow…@Nicky_low18 with a nice wee assist in there aswell 🤣 pic.twitter.com/eFRtNX4QmX
— Blair McNally (@BlairMcNally1) July 16, 2022
“You are going to have highs and lows in football,” he said. “It doesn’t define you but you need to react to it, that’s what I feel I have done.
“The way I’ve been brought up, I’m a fighter, I reacted well.
“I got myself fitter, sharper, leaner. I feel that’s paying off in preseason.
“Hopefully that’s giving the gaffer a headache to get a bit more game time.
What a professional this guy is! Banged into Bobby Linn during the off-season working on maintaining his fitness levels in the rain (after a days work).🌧 ☔️ 🏃🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/lADClV2TIQ
— Kevin Milne (@Vanderkev) May 24, 2022
“You need to work hard to get into the team, I know that more than anybody.
“To come in and get a couple of goals is nice, but we want to win the games.”
Building momentum from League Cup games
Arbroath have won all of their League Cup games, thus far, scoring seven with just the one conceded.
Linn hopes his side can continue that form and produce another odds-defying season when the Championship kicks off in a couple of weeks’ time.
“It has been a while since I scored so it was nice,” he said of his game-winning strikes against FC Edinburgh. “The win is what matters; it just keeps building momentum for us.
“Look at last season, we only lost four or five games, an incredible stat.
“We have to keep doing that. If you don’t concede you don’t lose and if we can score goals we have always got a chance.”
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