Championship player of the month Anton Dowds believes he has his mojo back after his successful spell on loan at Arbroath.
The striker was named the best player in the league for December with three goals and an assist helping the Lichties to the top of the table.
Now back at Falkirk, the 25-year-old now hopes to help the Bairns make the step up from League One.
In his first game back at his parent club, he hit a hat-trick in last weekend’s 6-2 demolition of Dumbarton and is indebted to Arbroath for sharpening him up.
Short on confidence
“I found myself a bit out of the picture at Falkirk and the manager at the time was happy for me to go and seek out a loan,” he recalls.
“I’d played with a few people who had played under Dick Campbell before and it was a case of when my agent went to speak to clubs, he was happy to talk with me.
🏆 Congratulations to Anton Dowds who has been presented with the @cinchuk Championship Player of the Month award for December for his performances while on loan at @ArbroathFC! #cinchChamp pic.twitter.com/HGliVoYTZW
— SPFL (@spfl) January 14, 2022
“We had a chat about what he expects from the team and from players who play for him and it kicked on from there.
“When I came in, I was bit short of confidence but they came in straight away.
“I knew the standard and Arbroath it wasn’t going to be easy getting in the team but it was an unbelievable opportunity for me to go up a league and test myself at that level.
“It was the first time I’d played in the Championship – it’s something I’d always wanted to do.
‘Fantastic month’
“To get that opportunity and get that belief and confidence from the management team and work on my fitness, it all started to come together. I feel I’ve definitely progressed.
“I think the highlight for me was the win at Kilmarnock in November. The team was playing well at the time but we knew it was a test going down to Kilmarnock who were favourites for the league.
“We really went about it in a fantastic manner. We asserted ourselves on the game and showed our confidence, what we’re about. I started on the bench that day but I could see by the way the team was playing that we’d get something out of it.
“I was over the moon that I managed to get the winning goal just before the end which did reflect the performance.
“December was a fantastic month for us and I think that’s reflected on how we got on against the teams around us in the league and that kicked us on to the top of the league.”
