Nicky Jamieson determined to make most of rise from Largs Thistle to Alloa Athletic

Nicky Jamieson spent half a decade coping with broken floodlights, pitches more at home in the Somme than North Ayrshire, and watching the shot to play in the SPFL pass him by.

This only made the former Greenock Morton youngster him more determined to grab his chance with both hands when it finally came; it's safe to say he did just that. 

A move to League Two with Queen's Park came along and he didn't look back, earning a place in the League Two Team of the Season, and doing more than enough to convince Alloa boss Peter Grant to parachute him to Scotland's second-tier.

READ MORE: Kevin O'Hara thanks Peter Grant after he joins Dunfermline Athletic

"I am just buzzing for the chance to play in the Championship," the former Largs Thistle player told Advertiser Sport. "Even last year I was still playing Junior football with Largs and every year getting told I could be playing Senior rather than Junior.

Nicky Jamieson put in the hard yards during his time in Largs

"It was frustrating it never seemed to happen but then it worked out quite well that Mark Roberts got the job at Queen's Park.

"I had played against him in the Juniors and the fact I've gone from League Two now to the Championship and will be playing against massive clubs...I just can't wait for it to start. 

"When I left [Morton], I was around 17 and don't think I appreciated how well people in the Senior leagues look after themselves and how much better it is.

"We'd be training at Largs and there would only be two floodlights so you couldn't really train in the winter, it would be p*****g with rain and freezing cold. 

"It just motivated me to make sure that I would get out and play at a level where you are playing at good grounds and playing against good players." 

Luck is a word Jamieson uses throughout his chat with Advertiser Sport, saying the pieces just fell into place at the right time following his move to Hampden. While most would argue he's doing himself a disservice, he is sure the stars aligned in his favour during his one and only season in Glasgow.

When Roberts left the club and was replaced by Ray McKinnon, that could so easily have been that for his shot at the big leagues. Instead, in came Peter Grant Jnr to partner him at the back and soon the pair become one of the league's best defensive duos. 

Peter Grant Jnr played a crucial role in sealing Jamieson's move to Alloa

Then there was a late Charlie Trafford goal to knock Alloa out of the Scottish Cup, which gave Grant Snr a rare weekend off to see for himself what all the fuss was about. 

"I worked hard but there was a good bit of luck in how it worked out," Jamieson, 23, said. "As well as Mark, Peter's boy dropped down and I played beside him for a number of months.

"Everyone always says you need a bit of luck in football and I am just really glad I finally got mine. 

"The gaffer actually came to a game where we played Stirling Albion away and we won 3-1. It was a horrible day; raining really heavy, cold, and the park was terrible.

"The gaffer said he liked the way I defended and the Juniors probably set me up for that as I was used to playing games where it was just a battle and about winning the headers and getting stuck in.

"Then he asked young Peter what I was like in the changing room and how he felt about playing beside me. I've got a lot to thank young Peter for. He recommended me and could have easily said 'nah, don't sign him'. 

"Otherwise, I could still be playing League Two next year if he hadn't come in and had the impact on me he did. It worked out well!" 

READ MORE: Alloa FC ambitious youth set-up will not be derailed by coronavirus

Jamieson – who has used his time off to put the finishing touches on his dissertation in quantitative finance from Strathclyde University – admits it has been strange to move to a new team during a pandemic, but it's made him only more determined to hit the ground running when training returns. 

It's another step up in quality and he knows working with the likes of Andy Graham will help him to appreciate the "small things" that will improve his game. The chance to join the "hallmark" of the part-time game was also too good to turn down. 

"They've been in the second-tier for a number of years and even when they have gone down to League One they have bounced straight back up," he said. "They always seem to have a core of players who stay for a number of years. If players are happy to stay at a place like that, then that's massive. 

"Speaking to Peter and the experience he has will improve me and my game. I improved last year with better players and I am sure I will get better again with is coaching."