SCOTT Allan is in danger of becoming something of an unofficial insolvency expert.
Having body-swerved his boyhood heroes Rangers shortly before they went into administration by opting to sign for West Bromwich Albion from Dundee United in January, the Scotland Under-21 midfielder now finds himself at Portsmouth on a one-month loan. The south-coast club are under the control of administrator Trevor Birch; have made 30 players redundant; are not yet guaranteed to see out the season; and are second-bottom of the npower Championship.
But Allan, a stand-out performer from the bench as Billy Stark's side drew with their Dutch counterparts in Paisley on Wednesday evening, simply covets the run in first-team football he has been deprived of since being frozen out at Tannadice after he refused to sign a new contract last August. "I can't see a club like Portsmouth going down the tubes," the 20-year-old said. "I'm just taking it game by game and seeing what happens.
"If it is going to benefit me in the long run then I'm happy to stay here until the end of the season. I'm just happy to be playing. Up until now it's not gone that way. I have to get my head down and get on with the football side of things for a change."
Some might think twice about joining a club in such a precarious position, even if it is only for a month. Not Allan. "The manager [at West Brom, Roy Hodgson] gave me the option," he said. "Clubs had been in touch with him to take me on loan and I jumped at the chance as I really wanted to be back playing. Hopefully it will go well for me."
Allan's first match for Portsmouth against Leeds last week represented the first competitive action he has seen in the English game, but he remains convinced he made the correct move in joining West Brom.
"All I wanted to do was develop as best I could as a football player," Allan said. "West Brom were the best option for me at the time. It was a tough time for me and my family when I wasn't playing football and there was all the speculation and comment about me.
"But I've come through it a stronger person. I think there were times when I was made out to be something I wasn't. Some of the things said were very unfair. I'm not a money- grabber. I feel comfortable at West Brom. Since I moved down there I have felt myself improving in all aspects of my game and I've no regrets.
"I'm aware of a lot of differences [from the Scottish game]. You have to be alert to everything because one mistake and you get found out and players can punish you because standards are a lot better.
"Everything is so professional and well run. You need to be open-minded and adapt because a lot of boys from Scotland are set in their ways."
The draw Allan helped the Scotland Under-21s gain in midweek left them a point adrift of Holland in a tight European Championship qualifying group, and possibly needing to win away matches against Bulgaria and Austria, but he feels all is not lost.
"I think we can beat anyone on our day," he said. "We showed that away in Holland."
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