New Dunfermline signing Kyle McAusland says he is looking forward to a fresh start after ending his eight-year association with Rangers.
The 21-year-old began his career as a youth at Ibrox but called time on his spell there earlier this week with the Pars offering first team full-time football.
And while McAusland admitted yesterday that saying farewell to his boyhood club was difficult, he is relishing the new challenge before him at East End Park.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind few days,” he told Courier Sport.
“I spoke to Kenny McDowall two or three weeks ago and he was saying to me if I wanted to go back out on loan that would be fine.
“So I tried to go back out to Brechin but that got stopped because Andrew Dickson (Rangers’ head of football administration) said he would rather get a pay-up arrangement.
“So we came to an agreement and I spoke to Potts (John Potter) a few days ago, on the day I was signing to cancel my contract.
“He phoned me to ask me if I fancied coming to Dunfermline and I obviously jumped at the opportunity.
“It was a wrench to leave Rangers.
“I’ve been there since I was 15, so this is my eighth year at the club and I’m a Rangers fan, so you never want to leave.
“But at the same time I wasn’t involved in the team and I needed to get out and play first-team football somewhere, so this is a great opportunity to come here and do well.”
McAusland has spent most of this season on loan with the Pars’ promotion rivals Brechin City and the option to return there was one he considered.
However, full-time football was foremost in his mind.
“My thoughts were the loan would have been ideal because you’re playing games on a Saturday but, with Brechin being part-time there, you’ve still got full-time training back at Rangers,” he explained.
“I spoke to Ray McKinnon (Brechin boss) and Darren Taylor his assistant and explained to them that if it was a loan deal I would still be at Brechin.
“But I needed to be, I suppose, a little bit selfish in looking for first-team football and full-time football.
“That’s why Dunfermline suited me right down to a tee.
“Where Dunfermline are in the table, it’s a definite false position.
“They should definitely be higher up the table and hopefully we’ll be there come the end of the season.
“Hopefully I can come here and add to what the team’s already got and we can come to an agreement at the end of the season.”
After putting pen to paper on a deal until May, McAusland is in no doubt that the Pars should be aiming for a return to Scottish football’s second tier.
“I knew it was a massive club and when I was signing on Wednesday I had a look around the stadium,” he continued.
“First impressions are everything and it’s a brilliant stadium.
“It’s a stadium fit for the Premiership, let alone League One.
“There’s definitely a pull. You’ve seen that with the boys who have come in, with the likes of Andy Barrowman coming back, full-time football and the fact it’s a big club.
“And the squad we’ve got here are good enough to get promoted.
“You can’t really take anything away from the likes of Stranraer, with the season they’re having. but I think if you asked even the biggest Stranraer fan if they thought they would be top of the league come the New Year I don’t think many would say they would be.
“But obviously they’re on a great run of form and when I left Brechin there they were 11 games unbeaten.
“So that’s what we need to do here, we need to go on a run of games.
“Over the next month or so the top four or five play against each other, so everybody is going to be taking points off each other and that will level out come the end of the season.”
If the Pars do gain promotion to the Championship, there is a chance that they might come up against Rangers if they fail to reach the top flight although McAusland reckons his old club will still come good despite off-the-field problems.
“Obviously you’ll read different things in the papers and see different things on the news, but you don’t let that affect you,” he added.
“Come 3pm on a Saturday it’s your opposition player you’re worried about, you’re not really thinking about if there’s a new takeover or a manager coming in or out, or whatever.
“That just floats to the back of your head.
“Hopefully all of that gets resolved sooner rather than later and they get back up to the top-flight quicker.
“Rangers, Hibs and Hearts should never ever be in the division below, with the money they bring in to Scottish football, the fans and the games.
“You’ve seen it’s difficult for the teams nowadays in terms of money, but hopefully in the next two or three seasons things will be back to normal and back to proper Scottish football.”