Scott Ross is back enjoying his football after leaving Cove Rangers to join Peterhead.
The defender, 32, made the switch from Balmoral Stadium to Balmoor earlier this summer following Cove’s relegation from the Championship.
This is Ross’ third spell at Peterhead, having enjoyed a six-year spell between 2011 and 2017 before joining Cove, while he spent a season on loan with the Buchan outfit during his Aberdeen days.
At Balmoor, Ross has reunited not only with his former team-mates but life-long friends: co-managers Ryan Strachan and Jordon Brown.
And working under the player-manager duo has helped reignite Ross’ love for the game.
“I’ve got a new found buzz for football against this season,” said Ross. “I’m really enjoying working with the new squad.
“Working with Ryan and Jordon has been strange, but the way they have been so far has just been brilliant. They’ve taken to the job and have been second to none.
“I’ve played with Ryan since I was about 13 at Aberdeen and I went to school with Jordon, so our connections are much more than just football.
“They’re two of my closest friends, so I’m delighted to see them do well.
“Becoming a manager at such a high-level club could be a daunting task, but they’ve taken it to to it very well. They’ve taken the club to a new level with the professionalism and training sessions.”
Ross has good feeling about new season
After suffering relegation with Cove last season, Ross is determined to have a positive campaign with the Blue Toon, who were also relegated and will play in League Two this term.
“I was at Cove for six years and the way last season went, not getting the results or performing to the level we should have, was tough,” said Ross.
“Coming back to Peterhead and having Ryan and Jordon as the managers, you want to work hard for them as your friends, but I have the added responsibility of being a senior player.
“I want to help drive the levels of performances with the younger players and make sure we’re all pulling in the right direction for the club.”
Peterhead kicked off their competitive season last weekend with a 1-1 draw against Partick Thistle in the Viaplay Cup, but missed out on a bonus point after losing the penalty shootout.
Ross believes it is an encouraging start ahead of the Blue Toon’s next Group B match against Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday.
United have lost their opening two matches of the competition against Spartans and Thistle, and manager Jim Goodwin is already under pressure.
However, Ross says Peterhead must focus on themselves and go into the match confident of their chances of taking a result against the Championship outfit.
“The Partick Thistle game was a very positive start,” said Ross. “Dundee United is going to be another tough test, they’re a full-time outfit.
“They haven’t had the results in their last two games, but they will be looking to get their season started against us. We’ve just to look at what we can do and perform at the level we know we can.
“We will go down there confident and aim to get a positive result.”