Airdrie star Dylan Easton won PFA Scotland's League One Player of the Year award after the best season of his career - after being persuaded to give senior football another go.
Easton, 28, spent two seasons with Kelty Hearts, before reuniting with Ian Murray at Airdrie last summer - having had a loan spell under the ex-Hibs star at Dumbarton in 2015 - and simply hasn't looked back.
The Diamonds finished second in League One to runaway champions Cove Rangers, despite recording a new club record of 20 games unbeaten, and Easton hopes to help them earn promotion through the Championship play-offs, with the semi-final first leg at Montrose tonight.
But the former Elgin, Clyde and Forfar midfielder says it was a heart-to-heart with his partner that led to him having the season of his life.
"If you ask any footballer, injuries are a thing and I got a lot of set-backs," said Easton. "At the time I had a young family, so I thought part-time football, for me, was the best way forward. I couldn't really see myself going back up.
"But after a good couple of seasons at Kelty, I realised that I'm not getting any younger, and if I want to go back on, kick on and play at a level that I know I can play at, then this was it.
"I sat down with my partner, who always gives me the best advice, and she said 'go and give it one more shot'.
"Thankfully this season has panned out even better than expected, to be honest. It has been amazing, and long may it continue.
"It has taken a lot of hard work. Being part-time [at Kelty] it's not as easy to keep yourself in good condition, you're only training twice a week - .two hours a week, pretty much at times.
"You've got to do all the right things, like eating and training, and I didn't feel like I was properly fit.
"Now, I'm in this full-time environment - and everybody at Airdrie, the backroom staff, the sports scientists, they put a lot of effort into it.
"We always go into training and if we know we're going to be doing a lot of running we spit the dummy out a little bit, but in the long run it has been worth it, and I've loved every minute of it at Airdrie."
With eight goals and 11 assists - the most in League One by one over Cove's Mitch Megginson - Easton was Airdrie's player of the year and also picked up the PFA Scotland award on Sunday.
Easton was delighted, but says his team-mates played a huge role in that.
He said: "It has been a bit crazy. To get voted player of the year at the club was a great feeling, there was a lot of competition, there are a lot of boys in our team who have had an incredible season.
"I think there could have been at least another three or four of those boys up at the PFA Scotland awards on Sunday as well.
"To be recognised by your fellow professionals shows that you must be doing something right, but my team-mates have made it a lot easier for me.
"I feel like it has been my most successful season, in terms of playing every week and keeping myself in the best condition that I've been in. I feel the fittest I've ever been.
"I've added goals, and I think I've had the most assists in the league as well, so it has been an amazing season for me, personally.
"I've been delighted with a mad 48 hours, but it will be all worth it come Tuesday if we can get the right result up at Montrose."
The Links Park club have defeated Airdrie twice this season, but during that 20-game run the Diamonds thumped Montrose 4-1 at New Broomfield and drew 2-2 in their last clash up there.
Easton said: "We go into the play-offs with a lot of confidence. We have nothing to fear.
"Our record has been incredible, and to go 20 games unbeaten in any other season you're probably winning the league title, so you've got to give Cove Rangers full credit for going 25 games unbeaten.
"I wish them all the best, but hopefully we can finish of what has been an incredible season, and take that momentum of winning games and being undefeated, hopefully go up to Montrose and get the right result.
"It would mean a lot to win promotion. It's something that I don't think has happened in a while. The club has been pushing to try and get in the right direction, and this year our target was to go and win the league. We felt we had a squad that was good enough to go and challenge.
"On a personal term, getting back-to-back promotions would be something special as well.
"It's a hard task. We've played Montrose numerous times this season and they've been very hard games, especially up there, which I think is the hardest place I've played in football.
"But if we can get a right good result we'll highly fancy ourselves back at home where we've been outstanding this season, so I'm looking forward to it."
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