Higdon perfectly at home leading the line at Fir Park

Saturday 6 October 2012

MICHAEL HIGDON needs little invitation to look back the way he came.

Michael Higdon with the Player of the Month award. Picture: SNS

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Chris Tait

It may be out of habit after manfully serving in a lone striker's role at Motherwell or out of concern of retribution after a prank he pulled on a younger team-mate last month – he tugged a chair out from under Stuart Carswell as the midfielder prepared to have his photo taken at Fir Park – but the Englishman has come to appreciate the merits of working in retrospect.

He was anchored in the present yesterday as he posed with the Clydesdale Bank Player of the Month award for September, but every accolade will come to vindicate a decision he made five years ago. He was part of a Crewe Alexandra squad that had been attracting both interest and money from rival clubs. Higdon had replaced Dean Ashton as the club's resident burly forward after the future England cap left in a £3m move but he came to question the value of sticking around, even if another forward, Luke Varney, would walk out the door at the same time after a £2m fee was agreed with Charlton Athletic.The desire for a change of scenery prompted him to throw his lot in with Falkirk and the distinctive coaching style of John Hughes – "the first day Yogi was on the roof of the training ground calling me a 'belter'," said Higdon – and the striker has matured during subsequent spells at St Mirren and now Motherwell. The 29-year-old has grown to become the main focus of his side's attacks but also of opposing defenders, with Dundee United likely to pay him special attention at Fir Park this afternoon.His hold-up play has been integral in helping Motherwell move into second place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and he offered an assured touch while assessing his career yesterday. "Dario [Gradi, then Crewe manager] offered me a new contract but I didn't really fancy staying. I needed a fresh challenge," said Higdon, whose side can go top for 24 hours at least with a victory today."You see these players at Crewe and they are all going on for a million here and two million there and you think 'you never know'. But I was getting a bit stale there and that happens to a lot of players at Crewe; [Gradi] will always have that faith in you and will always give you a contract and try and develop you. I wanted a complete change." His transformation into a striker capable of scoring six times in his last four league games has not always been painless as supporters can mistake an occasionally sullen performance for a lack of interest, but his rude form is a product of his contentment at Fir Park. "Sometimes you move on because you have to but I'm not looking to do that," said the striker, whose contract is up at the end of the season. "My missus has a good job and the little one is settled in. That is a big part of being happy and playing well. I'm one of the first names on the team sheet and have played every game under Stuart McCall."Mark Millar only made his league debut for United as a substitute in last weekend's 4-0 defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle but he is laboured with the need to resurrect his club's faltering season. United are just four points above bottom club Dundee ahead today's trip to Fir Park."Obviously, the gaffer [Peter Houston] wasn't too happy with what happened against Inverness and the boys weren't happy with the performance, either," said the midfielder. "So, we have done a lot of work, concentrating on our shape and I am sure we can bounce back with a positive result."

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Higdon perfectly at home leading the line at Fir Park

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