Midfielder Joe McKee is hoping his experience at higher levels can see him help Peterhead do well in League Two this season.
The 30-year-old signed for the Blue Toon from Dumbarton this summer on a two-year contract.
McKee, who has previously had spells down south with Burnley, Bolton Wanderers and Carlisle United, has played most of his football in Scotland in the Championship and League One – with Greenock Morton, Falkirk, and Queen of the South.
He also has recent experience in League Two, having finished second in the fourth-tier with the Sons last season.
Peterhead currently sit sixth in the table after five games, and host Bonnyrigg Rose at Balmoor Stadium on Saturday in search of a first home win of the league season.
McKee said: “This is a very competitive league. I have played the majority of my career at Championship and League One level, so coming into League Two was very different and I found it more physical.
“There are quite a few boys in the team who have played at a higher level, and it’s probably the same for every team in this league.
“I do want to lean on the experiences I’ve had playing higher up. It can help you be that bit more clever and smarter in the way that we are trying to play.
“I really just want to help the team as much as possible.
“If I can help with my experiences then that’s great, but it’s all about the team at the end of the day.
“We’ve got a lot of good players. If we can focus on what we’re good at and if we can make sure we are playing to our potential every week, then we should have too much for teams in this league.”
McKee keen for more minutes after pre-season injury
It has been a stop-start at Peterhead for McKee so far after he picked up a calf injury in pre-season training, but he is still enjoying life with the Balmoor side.
The midfielder is yet to start a match in League Two this term, though he has featured in Peterhead’s last three league matches from the bench.
McKee added: “I have really enjoyed it. It has been frustrating because I picked up an injury during pre-season and then when I came back playing it was still there.
“When I was playing in the (Viaplay) Cup against Dundee United and Partick Thistle, I could very much still feel it, but I didn’t want to miss anymore games, so was just trying to get on with it.
“It got to a point where I couldn’t keep going like that because I was struggling a bit, so it took a few weeks to get the injury cleared up.
“The last few weeks I’ve been trying to build up the minutes and trying to get as fit as possible has been the plan.
“It’s a really good group here and there are a lot of good players, so hopefully we can keep doing the right things and have a successful season together.”
Peterhead enjoyed an impressive start to the season, sitting top after three league games, before two successive defeats saw the Blue Toon drop down to sixth.
But after beating League One outfit Annan Athletic in the third round of the SPFL Trust Trophy last weekend, McKee hopes they can carry the performance into their league clash with Bonnyrigg Rose.
He said: “It (against Annan) felt like we were back to ourselves again. We had lost our way for the last couple of weeks, but we got back to doing our job right.
“Hopefully we can take that into Saturday and keep building on it.
“Every game in this league is difficult – it was the same last season for me at Dumbarton.
“For us, we just have to make sure we’re doing what we are good at it, and if we can do that then, hopefully, we will be too strong for Bonnyrigg.”
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