Livingston attacker Kurtis Guthrie needed to fly halfway around the world to rediscover his love for the game.
Now he’s hoping the Lions will see the benefits.
The 29-year-old admitted he’d grown weary of the grind in lower league English football after a decade spent at various fourth and fifth tier clubs down south.
So he took a chance and signed for Indian side RoundGlass Punjab in the I-League, the country’s second tier.
Turns out, it was just what was needed and he’s now back in the UK with renewed passion and determination.
He said: “It had become mundane. You knew what’s coming before the day had begun and I’d lost that love.
“I wanted to go abroad to see if it would reinvigorate me and it did exactly what I hoped it would. It made me fall back in love with the game. It was a whole new culture, new people, new style of play, new managers. It re-lit a fire and gave me the passion to carry on playing.”
He added: “It was a massive culture shock. Even the Indian boys were all from completely different backgrounds, different religions, different cultures.
“In that way, we all galvanised together and you had to learn how to respect other people’s ways of being, religion and stuff like that. It was a humbling experience which I really enjoyed.
“You’d have some great players, especially the foreign boys, then you’d have some technically good Indian lads but when you’re playing a 2pm and its 38 degrees, it doesn’t matter how good you are because it sucks the life out of you.
“You have to dig deep to figure out how you’re going to play so you can still be effective.
“I’ve never played in a standard like it. You didn’t know what the next day was bringing.
“You might be playing at 8, 4, or 2 and it’s a completely different game because you’ll have more energy in the evening. It’s one I’ll look back on and be very glad that I took that experience.”
Guthrie counts Livi lads Cristian Montano and Jackson Longridge as old team-mates from English football but he admits he didn’t pick their brains too much before making the decision to move to West Lothian.
And while many have used the Tony Macaroni Arena as a launching pad for future success, the striker insists he isn’t thinking long-term.
He said: “It always helps going somewhere new and having familiar faces, especially when I’ve got good relationships with both.
“But somebody’s opinion might not be your opinion and I think that’s the beauty of football at times so I didn’t talk to them too in depth because you have to experience it yourself.
“I don’t think too much past today. I’m 29, I just want to be somewhere where I’m playing. When you’re younger you’re always focused on what’s next and you can get lost in enjoying where you’re at and fully taking in the experience.
“What I’ve learned is enjoy today because football can be taken away from you very quickly. For me now, it’s just about focusing on the job at hand. If you take care of today, it will take care of itself tomorrow.”
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