Conor Scullion took the step down from League One to the Juniors this summer - and he says joining Fauldhouse United was the obvious choice to make.
The former Hamilton Accies youngster featured 14 times for Dumbarton last term but has joined Chris Mackie's revolution at Park View along with brother Liam and close pal Declan McDonald.
For the 21-year-old, it's as simple as wanting to play every week and regain his confidence after a frustrating time as a bit-part player with the Sons.
Scullion is one of 15 arrivals at the Hoose as Mackie plans a title challenge and he told the Courier he turned down offers from SPFL clubs to sign up for Fauldhouse.
He commented: "I just want to be playing every week and getting that confidence back in my game. I enjoyed my time at Dumbarton but you'd be told you played well and then dropped the next game for someone with a bit more experience. I guess it's easier to maybe trust a guy with more experience or easier to pick them but it was frustrating that I couldn't really play as much as I wanted.
"I had offers from teams in League One, League Two as well as the Lowland League but I just wanted to get back to playing and the fact the gaffer, my brother and Declan are here made it an easy choice to be honest.
"The three of us are really close. I've known Declan since we were really young and we've been pushing each other during lockdown to get our fitness as good as it can be. We've been doing six days a week and then taking a rest. When we get back to training, it will just be the football side of things we'll need to catch up on because the aim is for the fitness to be there already and we've done a good job, I think."
A return to the senior ranks isn't at the forefront of his mind, but he knows if he produces the goods at Fauldhouse, it could be on the horizon.
He added: "If it's a case of taking a step back to ultimately take two steps forward then great, but my focus is solely on trying to perform well and win games for Fauldhouse United. Obviously if that happens, then the nature of football is that there will be teams looking at you, but you have to be performing at a level that makes them want to watch you in the first place.
"It's a new league, I don't really know too much about it all if I'm honest but we're still a fair way from playing games. I'm just really keen to get into training and then take things from there. I don't really know any of the guys, apart from the gaffer, Liam and Declan, but they've got very good pedigree and I trust the gaffer to build a squad that can challenge for the title."
