PAUL Gallagher means no disrespect to Leicester City but it is impossible for the striker to hide his relief when he admits his Foxes career is finally at an end.
The 29-year-old still has a year-and-a-half to run on his deal at the King Power Stadium but in reality his days under manager Nigel Pearson are over.
Currently back on-loan at Preston North End until January, Gallagher has returned to the north west and is enjoying life after a turbulent 18 months both on and off the pitch.
A hat-trick in the 6-0 FA Cup win over Barnet last weekend for the Lilywhites was remarkable for Gallagher as they were not only his first goals of the season, it was the first time that the former Scotland international had started two games in a row in more than a year.
Things had not ben looking good at Leicester for a while. Gallagher spent a month on loan at Sheffield United last season, and only featured in eight league games in the whole season.
And this campaign has been even worse, with the former Blackburn Rovers player not being involved even on the bench as Pearson has had plenty of in-form strikers to choose from.
Shirts
While the likes of Jamie Vardy, David Nugent and Chris Wood have been getting the shirts, Gallagher has had to stay patient, knowing that Simon Grayson and Preston were putting together a deal for him.
“I have still got a good relationship with Nigel and Leicester but this has been a long time coming,” he said. “I'm only here until January but I would love to stay until the end of the season. That would be great but we will have to see how it unfolds.
“I'm still contracted to Leicester, but I think it's fair to say that my Leicester career is over.
“The last year or so I have wanted to be back home, closer to my family and when Preston came in the decision was very easy.
“They were everything I was looking for a in a club. They are ambitious, with a great squad and I could not wait to come.
“I did have to wait a bit though. I actually spoke to Simon at a testimonial this summer and he told me they were looking to bring me in but first they had to move some people out and make some space for me.”
Footballers fall out of favour all the time but with Gallagher it would not be telling the whole story to say he simply lost his form at Leicester.
Behind the scenes, the death of his new-born son Luca in childbirth hit him and his wife Hayley extremely hard.
Hayley was pregnant with twins in April of last year. Ava survived despite the premature birth and weighing only two pounds, but twin brother Luca did not, a heartbreak that Gallagher admits goes some way to explaining his loss of form.
“I do not like to make excuses,” he added. “But people see you as a footballer, they think you are some sort of robot but they don't see the other side of it.
“My wife and I, we wanted to be at home. Leicester is a long way away from the family and we wanted to move home and that got to me badly. When you lose one of your babies and then you go up to the emergency unit and you see your little girl fighting for her life, that is always going to affect you.
“And as I say, I am not one for making excuses. You can go and try and perform but it was extremely difficult.”
Faces
Now back home and starting afresh, Gallagher's confidence is slowly returning at a vibrant Preston side that are well in the play-off picture under manager Simon Grayson.
And with familiar faces from his Blackburn days like Joel Byrom and goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly for company at a club that he has already been at before it is no surprise to see his best form returning.
“Training every week at Leicester and then sitting on the sofa watching Soccer Saturday every weekend is a terrible feeling,” added Gallagher, who had a loan spell at Deepdale during the 2007/08 season in which he made 19 league appearances.
“You will never get those months back as a footballer. I kept my head down and was working hard but you do start to doubt yourself.
“Thoughts like: ‘What's going on? Why does no-one want to take me?' are never far from your mind.
“When the opportunity came to come here to Preston I could not wait to start and work hard.
“I did that and have earned my position. I knew I was not going to come here and just walk into the team now it's up to me keep working hard to keep it.
“We are in a good position in the league and these are the games I want to be playing in.
“Joel Byrom, Joe Garner, Alan Kelly, there were a lot of faces that I recognised when I first arrived at the club and that helped me to settle in very quickly.”
Before Saturday's top-of-the-table clash with Leyton Orient, Preston were comfortably in the play-off places but already nine points off the automatic promotion spots.
And while Gallagher's current loan deal extends only until January, the former Rover is desperate to get back into the Championship.
“You only have to look at the manager's record in getting out of this league,” he added.
“I think Simon has managed three different teams that have got out of this division (Blackpool, Leeds and Huddersfield) so far in his career.
“He knows what it takes and the squad that we have here is so strong, there is a great atmosphere in training.
“That's always the way. When a team are doing well people are looking forward to coming in and working hard.
“The ambition at the start of the season was to get this team promoted and we will be doing our utmost to make sure that it happens.”
