Anton Dowds grateful for Arbroath opportunity

The striker has been named cinch Championship player of the month for December after three goals and an assist for Arbroath.

In his first game back at parent club Falkirk, he hit a hat-trick in a 6-2 demolition of Dumbarton.

"I found myself a bit out of the picture at Falkirk and the manager at the time was happy for me to go and seek out a loan," he said.

"I'd played with a few people who had played under Dick Campbell before and it was a case of when my agent went to speak to clubs, he was happy to talk with me.

"We had a chat about what he expects from the team and from players who play for him and it kicked on from there.

"When I came in, I was bit short of confidence but they came in straight away.

"I knew the standard at Arbroath it wasn't going to be easy getting in the team, but it was an unbelievable opportunity for me to go up a league and test myself at that level.

"It was the first time I'd played in in the Championship - it's something I'd always wanted to do.

"So to get that opportunity and get that belief and confidence from the management team and work on my fitness, it all started to come together.

"I feel I've definitely progressed.

"I think the highlight for me was the win at Kilmarnock in November. The team was playing well at the time but we knew it was a test going down to Kilmarnock who were favourites for the league.”