Luke Murphy says his arrival at Burton Albion last year came at a 'perfect time' and helped him to love the game again.
The Leeds United loanee fell out of favour with former Elland Road manager Garry Monk last season, and failed to make the matchday squad for any of the Whites' matches before joining the Brewers just over a year ago.
He signed on for another season with Albion in the summer, and with his contract still to run for another year upon the conclusion of this campaign, he remained light-tipped on the possibility of joining Burton full-time in the near future.
An ever-present so far - barring the two matches against his parent club this season - the 28-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers in Nigel Clough's squad.
And it's no surprise he's back loving the game - as his form on the pitch shows.
"It's great playing every week and playing in a team where you know you can look to the man next to you and know that he's ready to go into battle with you," Murphy said.
"Everybody's got each other's back and it's just the enjoyment of it for me really.
"I was at a period in my career at Leeds where I wasn't playing.
"I wasn't really enjoying the game and I think last year I came to Burton at a perfect time for me.
"And it really helped me get back to loving the game again.
"I'll always say that I'll be forever grateful for giving me that opportunity, to the manager and obviously to the club.
"It's something I'll always remember."
Also contributing to Murphy's good feeling is the current air around the club at the moment.
The Brewers' Christmas form - three wins and a draw from six games - left them in the relegation zone purely on goal-difference.
And with Saturday's match against fellow strugglers QPR looming, Murphy wants his side to use the performances against Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich City as a springboard to continued success.
"I think that we are in a good situation at the moment" he added.
"We're on the back of some really good results and performances.
"During this season, I feel like we've had some good performances but not had the results to go with it.
"And now we've had a little bit of luck, and that seems to turn around for us.
"So hopefully that can continue and push forward, and obviously I think that the Championship is a lot tighter this year, there are five or six teams in it.
"But I've seen enough in our games that we'll be okay to get out of that."
