INTERVIEW WITH DANNY SWANSON - PART 2

Peterborough United & Coventry City

''Peterborough were in the Championship at the time. I'd spoken to their manager, Darren Ferguson. He came across well and I just thought I'd go for it. I was delighted with the way it worked out there. We won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley. That was an amazing day. The night before, we looked around the stadium. It was remarkable to actually play there. I felt I had a really good game as well. It was tough. We played a lot of the game with ten men. I had all of my family down there.

I was in two minds about whether or not to stay at Peterborough. Darren told me that they would offer me a new deal, but I had a gut feeling that I wanted to go to Coventry. I fancied a change. Coventry didn't really go to plan. To be fair, it's a big club. The facilities are excellent and the fans expect a lot (which they should). We didn't get off to a good start. I wasn't great. I wasn't bad, but the team was struggling all over. I ended up falling out of favour with the manager and he dropped me.

I went on loan to St. Johnstone. The cup match against Queen of the South was a bad way to start things. I wasn't worried when I signed, but I kind of thought, 'I've played for Dundee United. I don't know how the fans will take to me..'. I wasn't expecting to play in that game. Michael O'Halloran was supposed to play, but he ended up hurting his back on the Thursday. On the Friday, I got told that I was playing. I'd just come back from injury. I wasn't looking forward to it. I was trying to keep things simple, but it was just one of those days where nothing came off for me. I was thinking, 'Oh my god! What have I done here?'. But that was my only low part of the season at St. Johnstone. It worked out alright in the end!

The goal against Celtic is probably the best one of my career. I've scored a few decent goals, but that one tops the lot. We were excellent that night. Yeah, that was an unbelievable feeling. A massive high.

The last game of the season was excellent. We got the win we needed to put ourselves in contention for Europe. I was delighted for the boys, but I wanted to go back to Coventry and give it another go. Tony Mowbray was there. I was a big fan of him when he was at Hibs.''

Heart of Midlothian

''I'd spoken to Tommy Wright and kept him in the loop. When I went back to Coventry, I said that I'd come back to St. Johnstone if I had the chance. It probably sounds a bit rubbish that I went to Hearts, but it was the 'Craig Levein' factor. I would be close to home. My granddad was a massive Hearts fan as well.

I think that Craig Levein and Robbie Neilson work closely together. To be honest, I think that Craig wanted to give me another chance. I just felt that Robbie wasn't so keen. I felt like I was on trial, but I can't say that I was excellent during my time there. I wasn't. I was far from it. Some football managers take to you, some don't. It's just a roundabout. I'm not bitter. They are a fantastic club. Even though I've supported Hibs since I was a boy, I would never say anything bad about Hearts. They're going places. I'm glad I experienced it. When I played, I enjoyed it.''

St. Johnstone & The Future

''Tommy Wright isn't a bitter guy. I was hopeful that I could go back to Saints if it didn't work out at Hearts. Luckily, Tommy still had a soft spot for me! I was happy to pack up my stuff at Hearts and leave for St. Johnstone. It was a no-brainer.

When we played against Hearts at Tynecastle a couple of weeks ago, was I aiming to prove a point? Massively! I was massively up for the game. I've got a bad groin problem at the moment, but there's no way that I was missing that game! I took all the painkillers I needed to. In a way, I think I managed to prove a point. I did my job like the manager wanted me to do. At the end of the day, it's not all about me! It's about the result.

I've enjoyed it again. We went through a little rubbish run, but the win against Hearts is what we're all about. That's the St. Johnstone I enjoy playing with. Boys like Murray Davidson were absolute warriors out there. We just need to work on our consistency. We're aiming for 4th. If we can nail that down, we'll hopefully qualify for Europe again!''

interview by Ollie Wale