PERHAPS the only thing worse for a footballer than joining up for pre-season training is not having any pre-season training to join up with. If the Bosman ruling and the introduction of freedom of movement for those out of contract have given players greater control of their destiny, then the flipside can often be a summer of anxious fretting for those who find themselves temporarily between clubs. And so while the majority of those employed by SPFL sides return this week from an ever-shrinking close season, their out-of-contract colleagues will be setting up individual training programmes, calling their agents on a daily basis, and praying their next move can be sorted out sooner rather than later.

For many, it is not as simple as just following the money. Those, like Mark Connolly, often have to take into consideration the needs of a young family, the Irishman’s Twitter biography stating proudly that he is a “Father/Footballer” following the birth of daughter Ora last year and probably in that order of priority, too.

“If I were still young, free and single I could go anywhere and not really mind but there are other things you need to consider now,” he says. “People think a player just has to go for the best deal every time but you have to factor in other things like your family and your home too. I’m still quite young at 24 but having the wee one now definitely affects your decision-making.

“I’ve had four offers from down in England so I’m weighing up those all up. My missus and the wee one, though, are quite settled in Scotland and we’ve bought a house in Kilmarnock so ideally I’d rather stay up here but they’re hasn’t been much doing on that front. So there are a lot of different things you have to take into consideration when you’re weighing up your next move. One of the reasons I came to Scotland was that my partner is from Edinburgh so she wanted to be closer to home. So if I was to move back down south I don’t know if my family would come with me or stay in Scotland. These are all things you need to think about that maybe some folk don’t realise.”

Connolly’s situation is slightly different to the hundreds of other professionals who find themselves tumbling out of clubs this summer and onto the open market. The 24 year-old was made Kilmarnock captain last summer but having endured an injury-blighted campaign – made worse by his selfless determination to try to battle through a pre-season knock – the final year of his contract was cancelled by the club and manager Lee Clark. And so, while many others had months to adjust to the fact they were, in all likelihood, on their way to free agency, it was sprung on Connolly at short notice.

“It’s been a strange one as I didn’t really think I was going to be leaving Kilmarnock,” he adds. “I was just back fully fit at the end of the season and looking ahead to the start of the new one and getting back involved. So the manager hadn’t seen me play but he didn’t see me in his future plans and I was told I would be free to move on. That happens in football.

“In many ways it makes it more difficult finding out last minute that I wouldn’t be staying at Kilmarnock. Normally if your contract is running out and it doesn’t look like you’re going to be signing an extension then you’ve got months to try to plan ahead and get yourself sorted out. Most clubs and managers also have their homework done in advance. They know which players are going to be free agents and can try to get that all lined up from fairly early on. They can start talks when a player gets into the last six months of their deal and be pretty organised on that front. With me not leaving Kilmarnock until May it meant I wasn’t on anyone’s radar probably until a lot later than many others who are also looking for a new club this summer. If I had known this was going to happen I could have got the ball rolling a lot earlier.”

As he waits up his offers, Connolly has embarked on his own personal fitness programme with the help of a physio friend. The worst thing, he says, would be to join a new club and not be ready to make an instant contribution.

“When I was younger, maybe 19 or 20, you’d go away with the lads on holiday and totally relax. Training wasn’t really in your head at all. Now, especially on the back of the year I’ve just had, I’m really motivated and desperate to come back as fit as I can. So even when I was in Tenerife last week I was in the gym most days and keeping myself ticking over. I’ve a friend who is a physio in Edinburgh, another Irish lad, and I’ve been going through and having training sessions with him. I just want to make sure I’m ready if I get a phone call. I don’t want to go to a new club when you’re behind in your fitness and trying to catch up.”

Connolly leaves most of the negotiations to his agent but revealed offers can come in from a number of different sources. “If managers or folk at a club get your number and give you a call then that’s fine by me. Obviously I also have to put a lot of trust in my agent as he knows a load of football people. You just have to be patient but there’s still that relief to have something sorted and you know where you’re going. But I don’t want to rush into something that isn’t right. I want to go into an environment that feels a good fit. I don’t want to go anywhere just to get a wage. That isn’t me.”

Fitting for someone who has always had a mature head on young shoulders, Connolly seems genuinely delighted to see some of his former team-mates get themselves fixed up. “It’s the younger ones who maybe haven’t played as many games and aren’t quite as switched on about the business that you worry a bit more about. So I was so pleased to see Chris Johnston and Lee Ashford going to Raith and Dunfermline as it would have been hard for them, with mates and family always asking if they’ve got a club. It’s great they’re all settled. And hopefully it will be my turn soon too.”