New St Johnstone midfielder Danny Swanson reckons he has returned north of the border a much improved player than when he departed Dundee United two-and-a-half years ago.
Swanson left Tannadice at the end of the 2012 campaign and had two seasons at Peterborough United before making the switch to Coventry City under fellow Scot Steven Pressley last summer.
Things haven’t quite worked out as well as the 28-year-old might have hoped in the last few months, but Swanson is determined to seize the chance to impress all round after signing a loan deal at McDiarmid Park until the end of the season.
“The move took me by surprise because I didn’t think I was getting to go and then I was,” he explained.
“There were a few teams from Scotland interested but they had to get players out, but when St Johnstone came in I jumped at it.
“I knew the manager had been interested in the summer but I’d had a really good season last year and wanted to stay in England.
“It was a strange one because I’d been playing every week for a team going for promotion and winning cups, to not getting a game for a team struggling against relegation.
“But that’s football, the manager changed the formation and I didn’t really fit into it.
“That has worked against me and I’ve struggled to get back into the team.
“Coventry are a big club and they are under pressure so the manager is trying to find a solution.
“That’s what happens in football and I just want to be here playing games now.
“I have another year at Coventry so we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.
“I’ll speak to them and if things have gone well here, then you never know what might happen.
“But I’m fit and ready to go here at St Johnstone, and I’m a lot fitter than I was during my time in Scotland.
“The training you do in England is unreal, it’s much more intense than I’d been used to.
“So I think I’m a better player for being down in England, I played a lot in the Championship and felt comfortable in that league.
“And last season I had a really good time, it’s just been a blip in the last six months.”
It has been a whirlwind few days for Swanson after completing his move late on deadline day, and he was training with his new team-mates yesterday ahead of picking up keys to his new digs back in Scotland.
Saints fans didn’t give Swanson the warmest reception in his United days, largely stemming from an incident which got defender Steven Anderson sent off a few seasons back, but the midfielder is hoping to endear himself to the Saints’ support during his spell in Perth.
“It was a long time ago and there’s a lot of water gone under the bridge since then,” he said of the diving claims which saw Anderson shown a second yellow card in a 2011 game.
“I always got a lot of stick when I played in Perth, the fans liked to have a go at me.
“So I’ll have to get them on side and I’m sure once I get playing I’ll change their minds.
“I’m really looking forward to it and can’t wait to get started.
“The manager here seems a really genuine guy and he’s told me he’s happy for me to be here.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things about him from other people so he didn’t have to sell it to me, I was keen to work with him.
“I know a lot of the boys who play here from my time at Dundee United so I know what the team is all about.
“Coming here was always a really tough place when I was at United and a lot of the players are the same, especially at the back.
“So I know what will be expected of me when I get into the team.
“I’ll always have a soft spot for United because I enjoyed my time there but it’s a new chapter of my career.
“We play them in a couple of weeks and I’ll have no problem facing them.”
Swanson was part of the Peterborough side that won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at Wembley last season.
But lifting the Scottish Cup at Hampden with United remains the pinnacle of the playmaker’s career to date, and he would love to help his new club do likewise in May.
“It’s a competition I have a lot of feeling for as well because of winning it with Dundee United in 2010,” he said ahead of Saints’ tie at Queen of the South on Saturday.
“So I’d love to do it again this season, it was the highlight of my career.
“I won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last season at Wembley but it wasn’t the same.
“All the English boys were going mad for it, but I’m a Hampden man.
“Walking out at Wembley isn’t the same for me as walking out there.
“Hopefully I might get a chance to do it again this season why can’t it happen?