Scott Andrews went to this year’s World Curling Championships to sit on his sport’s equivalent of the bench and while he was grateful for the opportunity the Olympic silver medallist is looking forward to getting back into front line action as the new season gets underway.

The 27-year-old Ayrshireman plays second for Team Murdoch who, when they reached the final at Sochi in 2014, produced Scottish and British Curling’s greatest success since Rhona Martin threw her stone of destiny in 2002.

However their ambitions to play on the international stage have been thwarted since as they have suffered a succession of failures in bids to qualify for both the European and World Championships.

They are among three teams identified as worthy of UK Sport funding, along with Team Brewster who won the Scottish Championships last season so went to those World Championships and Team Smith, who won the right to represent their country at senior level for the first time at last year’s European Championships.

While the rivalry is consequently intense the invitation to Andrews to accompany to the World Championships a team led by Tom Brewster, who had been his skip ahead of the Olympics two years ago only to be effectively deposed and relegated to fifth man status ahead of the competition, speaks to its nature.

“Tom took me to the Worlds and it was really nice of him,” said Andrews.

“Obviously I played with Tom for a couple of years before the Olympics when we had great success at the Worlds so it’s always nice to know that we’re still friends, there are no hard feelings even though the team has separated. It was a great honour and privilege to be asked and that they see me as good enough to be their fifth man.”

Even so he consequently headed for the Baden Masters in Switzerland, which gets underway today, all the more determined to get a crucial season in terms of Olympic qualification underway.

“Everybody wants to be at major championships and this year with the Europeans being in Glasgow there’s a great opportunity to play under that home nation banner,” he said.

“For us we’ve not performed in them since the Olympics and we really want to be back so that hunger is there within the team. Lifestyle wise our funding has been dropped a bit because we’ve not been at championships, but we just want to back at the top of the podium in Scotland.”

That loss of earnings is a reminder of the fragile nature of seeking to sustain a career as a top flight sportsman reliant on state support can be, but being challenged as they are has only provided Andrews and team-mates Dave Murdoch, Greg Drummond and Michael Goodfellow, the chance to re-assert their commitment.

“We’re all going full-time, even with the grants dropped,” he pointed out.

“I’ve worked over the summer to make up the pennies. Our sponsor Clive Ramsay gave me a job in the restaurant at The Peak through the summer months. So I got some savings although they’ve all gone because I’ve just bought a house.”

There is a wry smile as he said so because, the keys having been handed over just as he was heading to Switzerland, he knows what awaits in the few days he will subsequently have at home before Team Murdoch then makes this season’s first of what will doubtless be several trips to curling’s commercial epicentre in Canada.

They do so undaunted by that recent championship record, having used the opportunities their Olympic status helped earn them to get into other top tournaments where they have performed much better.

“I’d actually say the confidence of the team is really high even though we’ve not won the major championships,” said Andrews.

“Last season we had our best season on tour, winning four tour events, so we have that winning feeling in us, it’s just that we’ve not performed in the final of the Scottish Championship the last two years. The confidence is high and that hunger of all of us wanting to get back on the ice and wanting to get the season started again is always good to see. We’re ready to go.”