Promise at Motherwell had Robbie Leitch on his way to current Premier League side Burnley – but Falkirk is where the attack-minded midfielder is loving his football.
The Motherwell academy product left Fir Park in 2016 for Burnley but was unable to make the grade at Turf Moor, leaving a year later.
Spells at St Mirren, Queen’s Park and Croatian outfit NK Novigrad have followed since. Leitch doesn’t regret making that move south as he targets a promotion push with the Bairns, following a loan spell at Forfar Athletic last term.
“It was obviously a great opportunity for me to go down to Burnley,” said Leitch. “There were lots of big players and stuff, but it was obviously going to be hard to try and get into the first team there.
“It didn’t work out, and I had to come back to Scotland and signed with St Mirren. I spent the last six months of that season there and it was good for me.
“I ended up coming to Falkirk last season and I’ve just loved it since I’ve been here. This year 100% we are targeting promotion.
“The two gaffers have got it moulded into us that we’re here to win the league and that’s it.”
One of the bosses at the Bairns, Lee Miller, provided his verdict on the attacking midfielder too. He’s explained the qualities that Leitch brings to his Falkirk side.
“He gets in great wee pockets, great wee areas, his link-up play is very good and he can score a goal into the bargain,” said Miller. “That’s great for an attacking midfielder. He’s doing all the right things.
“He’s improving every week. I think the training and intensity levels have been really good, as they have for all the players.
“We’ve got real quality strikers up there in Robbie and Akeel Francis, and Conor Sammon is doing really well, and we’ve got Aidan Keena coming back into the mix and Anton Dowds.
“They are all thriving with getting this extra bit of training as well and it’s full-time training. They are picking my brain all the time, which is great.”