Former Everton defender Brendan Galloway has admitted he hopes his long-term future is at Plymouth Argyle.
The 25-year-old has joined the League One club initially on a contract until January after impressing Ryan Lowe in pre-season training and games.
The short length of the deal is because Galloway has had several injury issues in the past, most recently serious damage to a knee in November 2019 when he was at Luton Town.
Read more: Ryan Lowe hopeful George Cooper can be fit for start of Argyle season
However, should Galloway prove his fitness to Lowe then there is every likelihood that both sides will look to extend his stay for a lot longer than that.
Galloway told Plymouth Live: "It has been tough to deal with some of the setbacks but I don't think that any career is straightforward.
"This is a part of football. There is a lot of ups and a lot of downs, a lot of adversity. It's just about every day getting better.
"I have had a bad injury and from then it was just about me recovering, getting my body to feel right again and get back playing.
Most Read
"It's the way you deal with it mentally, more than anything, and I have got good people around me that have helped me along the way.
"So this is another part of the journey, something that I'm excited about and really looking forward to.
"The saying adversity makes you stronger is something that I live by. I really believe that you can't make it to the top without hard times.
"I have come here and I work hard, and I'm trying to be the best version of me," added Galloway, who started 16 games in the Premier League for Everton and also went on loan to West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland.
Galloway is unconcerned about the fact he only has a contract until January because he has strong belief in his ability
"I want to stay here, simple as that," he said. "I want to work hard, I want to play well, I want to impress and hopefully I can stay here beyond then.
"That will be the plan so we will see how it goes. If I do my bit on the pitch then I think everything else will take care of itself and we will be in a real good place."
Don’t miss
Galloway has trained every day since pre-season training began on June 23 and played in all four of the warm-up matches.
That includes the narrow 2-1 defeat by Championship club Swansea City on Tuesday, when the Green Army were finally able to return to Home Park after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and a crowd of 3,391 were in attendance.
While Lowe has been impressed with what he has seen from Galloway, the defender likes the look of the squad that has been assembled at Home Park and feels the club is 'a perfect fit' for him.
Galloway said: "The ability is fantastic. We have got a really good squad, good experience, players who are getting to their peak, and young lads who are coming through.
"The ones who have stepped up from the academy have been very impressive. They have been a real big part of pre-season. You can tell that we have got some really good players."
He added: "It's sort of like a brotherhood between us. There has been quite a new signings and we all have one goal at the end of the day. We take care of each other and we get along very well."
Galloway was officially released by Luton Town earlier this summer but he did spend the last week of the 2020/21 season training with with Argyle.
That led to an invite from Lowe, who knew Galloway from his playing days at MK Dons, to attend pre-season on trial.
Galloway said: "When I first came I hadn't been here before so I was shocked at how good the stadium was. The pitch is lovely and then there is the fanbase.
"I know we only had a few thousand in on Tuesday but I have been told wait until it's full and they will really get behind us.
"We will work hard on the training pitch so that when we come out on the game days we can put smiles on their faces."
He continued: "Pre-season has been tough. We have been really put through some hard work but I think you will see that hard work will pay off.
"I personally feel great for it, and all the lads feel great. It has been a good journey so far."
Galloway's journey with Argyle began in the closing days of the last campaign and he believes that has smoothed his transition at the club.
"It helped massively," he said. "I came here for a few days to get a feel for the place, and I think that was the right decision.
"Coming back here in pre-season, I have loved every minute of it. It has been really good. We have got a couple of weeks left and we are still working really hard. I just can't wait for the season to start."
Joining Argyle has seen him reunited with Lowe after the pair were both at MK Dons in the 2012/13 season.
Plymouth Live's unbeatable Argyle coverage
Keep an eye out on our social media pages for more Argyle news - we are on Twitter @HeraldPAFC and on Facebook Plymouth Live - Argyle
You can follow Argyle reporter Chris Errington on Twitter @ChrisErrington1 and on Facebook HeraldChris
Each week, Chris will give subscribers an exclusive glimpse of what life is like as one of Britain's most-travelled football reporters in our Inside Home Park newsletter. It's an absolute must-read, and you can sign up for that here (it must be done on desktop not mobile, though).
Galloway said: "You cross paths with a lot of people. When I was a young pup at MK Dons he (Lowe) was one of the older heads in the changing room, and one of the more experienced ones as well.
"He sort of took us under his wing and tried to work hard with us to improve us, and always had our back in every situation. He always gave us confidence.
"Now that he's the manager here, I have got that same faith in him from my experiences before.
"He's quite a character and he's a good manager, as we have seen in his short managerial career. He has got a project that he wants to move forward here and I'm just happy to be a part of it."
He added: "We have been working hard throughout pre-season on the way that we want to play and our identity. The staff make it really clear to us and all the players have bought into it.
"We have got a really clear idea of what we want to do and how we want to play. Tuesday night was a good test against one of the best teams in the Championship.
"If we can keep that confidence going into every game, and keep the belief that it doesn't matter who is in front of us and we can go and beat them anywhere, then I think we will have a real good go this season."
Read more: Argyle defender James Bolton to see specialist over ankle injury
Read more: Argyle can showcase ability on Sky TV against Portsmouth, says Ryan Lowe