Jason Cummings is adamant he wanted to stay at Dundee last year but claims he was forced out of the club.
However, the former Rangers and Hibernian striker admits his subsequent move to Australia has been a godsend.
Cummings was released by Dundee last January when the Dens Park outfit said he had ‘left to join a club overseas’.
It came after the colourful marksman had been sent home from training for allegedly being ‘unfit' following a public appearance at an event at the Hydro in Glasgow, a claim he has since denied.
The 27-year-old insists he was enjoying life with the Dark Blues, where he scored 14 times in 36 appearances, and did not want to leave.
But, after earning an Australia call-up and playing at the World Cup since moving Down Under to join Central Coast Mariners, he admits things have definitely worked out for the best.
He said: “When Dundee let me go, they actually paid me off. I wanted to stay at Dundee, obviously.
“I wanted to do well at Dundee, I was happy, I was staying at home, and I loved my time there.
“The boys there, that changing room was bonkers, it was a great laugh. So, actually, I wanted to stay, but it was out of my hands.
“They wanted rid of me and when one door closes another one opens.
“Thankfully, I got this opportunity with the Mariners.
“At a lot of teams, at Dundee and even previous teams, like Luton and Shrewsbury, I was the same as I am now.
“I was fit, I was ready to play, ready to train and always working hard. I just never had that opportunity.
“I never had someone believing in me like what the manager does here.”
Cummings made just one appearance at the World Cup, coming on as a late substitute in the 4-1 defeat to Australia.
But he revelled in being able to rub shoulders with some of the game’s superstars and has since struck up an online friendship with Olivier Giroud after originally being snubbed in trying to swap shirts with the France striker.
He also now has another memento of the Qatar finals after getting a tattoo with the logo and his cap number of 626.
He told A-Leagues All Access: “To play on the big stage with the likes of Messi, Mbappe, with billions of people watching, it’s just mind-blowing.
“That’s why I got a tattoo, to remember. When I’m 60, 70, I can always look at that and tell the story to my grandkids, which is just mental.”
