Todd Cantwell has insisted he had to leave Rangers to avoid wasting a year of his playing career.
The midfielder, 26, requested to leave the Ibrox club in the summer and eventually joined English Championship club Blackburn Rovers.
Cantwell has revealed he feels "unlucky" to have had a couple of difficult experiences leaving clubs as he reflected on his departure from Glasgow in the summer.
But the creative midfielder has explained he felt he had to move on or he risked losing a year of his career as he cited the importance of happiness for footballers.
Despite feeling he had to leave, Cantwell reckons he "thrived in the environment" in Scottish football, even if he didn't believe he was in the right environment after "circumstances changed" and "different people were in charge".
Cantwell told BBC Radio Lancashire: "To have a few of those moments in my career so far is probably uncommon.
"It felt a bit unlucky.
"Situations and different things have followed me around - I've got on with the manager and they've gone, or I haven't maybe seen eye to eye with the tactical side of things.
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"Your career is short and you look back and realise that.
"I'm 26 now, not a young boy any more, and if you don't feel you're in the right environment to play your best, but also be happy. Happiness is a thing that often gets looked past in football.
"It's numbers-dominated, about where you are in the league and what you're playing for, and there's a lot to be said for just feeling happy in yourself and your environment.
"I thrived in the environment at Rangers but circumstances changed, different people were in charge and it didn't feel right any more.
"I'm proud of myself for taking that step [the transfer request] because the younger me would probably have sat for another season, and it might have been a season that I looked back on and say I lost."
