Aaron Reid reckons he can establish himself in full-time football with Airdrieonians.
The Aberdonian striker has joined the Championship outfit after leaving Aberdeen.
Reid was highly thought of the in the north-east and signed for the Dons in January 2023 following an impressive spell with Turriff United in the Breedon Highland League.
However, the 20-year-old was unable to break into the first-team at Pittodrie and has now moved on.
But Reid is optimistic about his future with the Diamonds, who finished fourth in the second tier this year under manager Rhys McCabe.
He said: “I want to try to keep playing at the highest level I can and going to Airdrie in the Championship was the highest offer I had.
“Everyone spoke very highly of the way the club plays and also the manager so I thought it was a good move for me.
“I think I’ve still got a lot more to come and all I’m after is an opportunity to show people what I can do.
“I feel going to Airdrie gives me the best chance of doing that.
“I’m only 20 and still have time on my side in terms of showing what I can do.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to has talked highly of the set-up at Airdrie and hopefully it’s a good move for me.”
Loan restored confidence
After joining Aberdeen from Turriff, Reid was loaned out to Elgin City in the second half of the 2022-23 season.
Last term he was farmed out to Peterhead, but after being used sparingly by the Blue Toon he switched to Formartine United in the second half of the campaign.
Scoring 13 goals for the Pitmedden outfit meant Reid wasn’t short of options this summer.
Reflecting on his time with Aberdeen, he added: “I feel like I didn’t quite get the opportunity I wanted but the loans I had opened up a lot of doors for me.
“Going to Formartine allowed me to get my confidence back and the loans were a big positive for me.
“I only scored in pre-season at Peterhead and towards the end of that spell I didn’t feel confident in front of goal.
“But I went to Formartine and scored a hat-trick in my first game, that really helped me going forward.
“The manager Stuart Anderson and all the boys were really good at keeping my head up.
“Going there was a good decision and it’s all worked out well in the end.”