Grant Savoury is grateful for Peterhead giving him an opportunity to relaunch his football career after a year without a club.
After leaving Celtic last summer, Savoury has picked up numerous niggling injuries which have hampered his chances of earning a new deal.
However, after six weeks training with the Blue Toon, he penned a two-year deal last week and made his debut as a substitute against Alloa Athletic.
Savoury was training with Morton at the start of last season and was due to sign, only for then-manager David Hopkin to leave. He then went on trial with Queen of the South and dislocated his shoulder before suffering with patellar tendinitis.
However, he was offered the opportunity to train with Peterhead after Mick Murphy, who he worked with at Celtic and is a scout for the Balmoor club, put him in touch with Jim McInally.
“It’s been a difficult year,” said Savoury. “I picked up quite a few injuries at bad times.
“I was close to signing at Morton under David Hopkin and he got sacked, which left me in an awkward position. I then dislocated my shoulder on my first day at Queen of the South.
After an extremely frustrating season with injuries last season I’m delighted to get this done and buzzing to finally get back on the pitch!
Time to kick on now ✍️💙 https://t.co/sabP3g7VQE
— Grant Savoury (@grant_savoury) October 14, 2021
“I had patellar tendinitis in my knee in pre-season, which was difficult, as I didn’t have a club. I was keen to get back in and signed somewhere, so to miss pre-season was frustrating.
“I had to be patient and build it back up, but thankfully Peterhead wanted to give me a chance.”
The longer period training with Peterhead has helped with his rehab and Savoury scored a hat-trick in a bounce game against Cowdenbeath during the international break.
“The injury I had, it was difficult to do anything fitness-wise,” added Savoury. “The first week it definitely felt like I wasn’t where I wanted to be, in terms of fitness or sharpness.
“I tried to do a lot of work away from training to get back to the level I was at. ”
He had come through the youth academy at Celtic, but his only appearances came at youth level. A loan spell with Edinburgh City in 2019-20 saw him play six times.
Getting out on the pitch again was a big moment for Savoury and the two-year deal he has signed gives him insurance to get back to where he wants to be with Peterhead.
“With football you never know what’s going to happen – if you’re going to play every week, if you’re going to get injured,” he said.
“Having that two years, I want do as well as I can for Peterhead, starting against Falkirk on Saturday. It’s good for me to have that opportunity.
“I didn’t have too much time to think about getting back on the pitch (after signing), but it was a really good feeling. I’ve been wanting to do it for so long and it was a bit of a relief.”