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GREGOR Buchanan is off already.
Having been a Dumbarton player for just 24 hours, tomorrow the defender will be off to pastures new.
But there’s no need to panic – his trip to Florida is just a holiday.
And he can relax over every mile of his journey across the Atlantic, knowing exactly where he’ll be playing his club football next season.
He’ll be at the Rock, having signed a one-year deal on Thursday, making himself Stephen Aitken’s first new signing.
It’s also an arena where he’s already scored, doing so for Airdrie in a First Division match in April 2013.
Unfortunately for him, it was just a consolation as the Diamonds lost 4-1. It was one of several games where they were beaten as they were relegated.
However, he looks back on it as a learning curve, and after two years in League One with Airdrie and then Dunfermline, he’s ready to come back up a level.
He told The Dumbarton Terrace: “I’m delighted to get everything tied up. It was a chance I couldn’t turn down as Dumbarton have had a great few years in the Championship, a league which seems keep getting better.
“It’s an opportunity for the team and myself to kick on and that’s what made it an appealing move.
“Stephen had been in contact with me as soon as he got the job at Dumbarton. I know him from his days at Stranraer, when I was in opposition, and he’s someone I have a lot of respect for.
“He did a fantastic job for them and I always thought he could go on. He spoke every highly of the club.
“Every footballer wants to see how far they can go in the game. After a couple of years in League One, I’m hopeful I can put in a good season a league higher.
“The 2012/13 season was my first in professional football. It was a difficult one in terms of what happened to Airdrie, but I realised the standard I had to get to.”
Gregor has already played against Rangers at Ibrox for Airdrie, but might get the opportunity again with Sons next season.
Even if he doesn’t, there are still trips to Easter Road and St Mirren Park to look forward to, along with Fir Park if Motherwell replace Rangers in the Championship.
And while he’s only just signed for Sons, he’s in no doubt about what he wants to help them achieve in the 2015/16 campaign.
He added: “There are going to be four or five really big hitters in the Championship – it’s going to be a great league.
“As a kid these grounds are where you want to be playing your football and to get that opportunity is going to be fantastic.
“But we can’t get carried away. Those teams are in this division for a reason and we have to take them on and try to take points.
“In the last few years Dumbarton have stayed up in the Championship and that’s the main target this time as well.
“They finished comfortably above that this season so they’ll look to kick on from that, but the main focus is to remain in the division.
“The manager is confident he can get more out of the team and make the home games more difficult for the away sides. We’ll do our best to make that a strong point.”
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