AFTER a trophy-laden decade with Glasgow Rangers and 12 months with Turkish giants Besiktas, next month will see Allan McGregor begin a chapter of his distinguished career he thought had passed him by.
Parachuted into the Premier League as the man Steve Bruce hopes will finally solve Hull City's goalkeeper woes, a fresh challenge now awaits McGregor in English football.
A step into unchartered ground brings an inevitable air of uncertainty for the Scotland international this season. Even at 31.
Judgements are waiting to be cast in front of a new audience but McGregor is unfazed by his fresh start south of the border.
"Maybe some people will see it as me having to prove myself all over again but I'm not really going out to do that," he told the Mail.
"I want to enjoy my football and try to do my best, that's all I'm focused about.
"You can say whatever you want but the proof is always in the pudding.
"For me, I don't see this season as being about me. I want the club to do well.
"I would rather win 5-4 and have a bad game where I'm to blame for four goals, than play well and get beat 1-0.
"It's all about the club and making sure we can compete."
McGregor joined up with his new City team-mates for pre-season training on Monday following a £1.8m switch from Besiktas last week, beginning the countdown to a potential Premier League debut at Chelsea in less than six weeks.
Only Eldin Jakupovic, unconvincing during his own debut season at the KC, currently stands as an alternative at Stamford Bridge, yet McGregor is refusing to take his position for granted.
"First of all I need to fight for my place," he added. "Every good club needs good goalkeepers, especially one in this league.
"I'll be looking to do my best in training and hopefully I can get the nod. Then it's up to me to play consistently well and keep the shirt."
McGregor's pedigree sees him as the overwhelming favourite to be Bruce's number one this season.
An enviable CV includes 29 Scotland caps, three SPL titles and eight Scottish and League Cup medals during his time with Rangers, while a season with Istanbul outfit Besiktas ended on the high of European qualification.
Only City's invite to the Premier League party cut short McGregor's time in Turkey as Bruce finally landed the keeper he had attempted to make his very first signing at the KC Stadium last summer.
"I'm not too sure about last summer but this year it probably came up a couple of weeks before I signed," explained McGregor.
"I've been trying to discuss things with Besiktas.
"This side of things was pretty much done but I was getting everything finalised from the Besiktas side.
"The chance to play in the Premier League was big. I spoke with the manager and he was very excited about the new season. If the chance never arose I'd have been fine to stay with Besiktas but when it came along it was something I wanted to do."
A year of waiting has, of course, come at a cost for City. While McGregor had joined reunited team-mate Sone Aluko as part of a free agent exodus from Ibrox following Rangers catastrophic implosion last summer, the passing of 12 months forced the Tigers to shell out a £1.8m sum to finally snare the Edinburgh-born keeper.
Life has changed dramatically for McGregor since a six-year deal signed in 2011 seemingly tied him to the Old Firm giants until 2017, but this opportunity with the Tigers is one he does not intend to turn down.
On his long-term Premier League ambitions, McGregor said: "It's a hard one to say because when I left Rangers I still had five years left.
"When I signed that contract before all the stuff happened there I thought that would be me.
"Circumstances can change in football and it changed there, so the times move on. It's all led to this. Now I've got a chance to play in the Premier League and it'll be great I'm sure."
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