Lewis Strapp admits he got homesick in Finland and hopes he can be the missing piece that can help Airdrie earn their Championship survival.
The 25-year-old defender joined the Diamonds at the start of January and guided his new club to a clean sheet and all three points in last week’s 3-0 win over relegation rivals Dunfermline, which ended Airdrie’s whopping 19-game wait for a league win.
Now back in Scotland after a six-month stint in Finland with top flight side SJK Seinäjoki in which he helped them qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League, Strapp is thrilled to be back in his homeland and has set his sights on turning Airdrie’s fortunes around, as they seek to claw back a 10-point deficit at the foot of the table.
The former Morton left-back said: “I jumped at the chance to go to Finland and I did love it over there. The gaffer, Stevie Grieve, who is Scottish, was brilliant with me and I learned so many things.
“But I suppose I was homesick. I just missed the way the changing rooms are and the way things are in life outside of football.
“It maybe wasn’t as good over there as I thought it would be. I just really missed the togetherness and the banter of Scottish football and the way it is.
“Everybody is on each other and aggressive in how they want to play the game, it wasn’t like that over in Finland, so coming back home was a big draw.
“I know a few of the boys here and Airdrie looked like a good place to come, so that was the attraction.”
Strapp made his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Livingston on January 14, before following that up with 64 minutes of the win over the Pars, having missed the 5-1 win over Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup on January 18.
And he has now targeted more points in Saturday’s visit from Queen’s Park.
He added: “I’m a fresh player in there who hasn’t been used to losing games so maybe that can help. That’s two games in a row we’ve got a win and hopefully we can build on this.”
Reflecting on the win over Dunfermline, Strapp said “There’s still a few things we can get better at with a few tweaks but we are just trying to understand what we are trying to do.
“It is the first win in a while for the club so the boys are buzzing and we are looking forward to Saturday now. We just need to keep building. That wee bit of confidence can make all the difference.
“Scoring three goals and a clean sheet is brilliant as well. That’s why I’m here, to help us get clean sheets, and the boys are working so hard.”