– could do a lot worse than donning their warmest clothes and beating a path to Broadwood this evening.

There they will find Robbie Winters, the one-time Dundee United, Aberdeen and Brann Bergen forward, appearing in Livingston colours as the third division club and Clyde try to settle their Active Scottish Cup third-round tie at the fourth attempt.

If anyone had a reason to grumble about the abandonment of Tuesday’s match between the sides it is Winters who had scored twice by the time a heavy fog descended. But if he has learnt anything from a wandering career it is that disappointment is always fleeting. Winters, simply put, has never been a man to grumble about the hand life has dealt him and at 34 years of age is not going to start now.

He has plenty of reasons to be resentful. There was the move to Celtic that broke down during the early days at Tannadice, the fact that he only ever earned one Scotland cap despite bagging a remarkable haul of goals during his six years in Norwegian football, and Livingston’s demotion to the third division not long after he had agreed a short-term deal.

Every disappointment, though, is met with a shrug and an attitude that what will be, will be.

He has thrived at Livingston, playing alongside his brother, David, for the first time in his career, and believes he still has enough in the tank to make an impact at any SPL club considering taking a chance on him next month.

“I’m happy with my football, the club, the management, and all the boys here,” he told The Herald. “If there’s interest from other clubs in January I would consider it, but at the same time I’m 34, so it’s maybe the length of the contract that will be the most important thing, rather than another short-term thing.

“It’s been a bit of a culture shock for me in the third division, but you have to go where people want you. When I came back last year I trained with Kilmarnock and Hamilton, and other teams were interested, but I got injured in a bounce game against Rangers and was then out for four months. Now, I’m fully fit and ready to go. I have to prove to the others that they were wrong not to take a chance on me and I think I’ve done okay.”

Winters’ precise pronunciation is a sure giveaway of someone who has spent a lot of time speaking English with foreigners. The boy from East Kilbride admits he had never envisaged spending part of his career overseas but has nothing but happy memories from his time in Norway, where he played in the Champions League and helped Brann to their first league title in four decades.

“I had never really seen me going abroad in my career and I certainly didn’t plan it,” he added. “When I left Aberdeen the money crashed out of football and clubs were struggling to sign players, so it was a difficult game, but I managed to find myself 
a wonderful club.

“When you go over at first you think you might stay for one or two years. But the way the supporters and the clubs were with me I couldn’t help but stay. There were occasions when I could have left, but there wasn’t really anything that was that much better to go to.

“I was at a club that was challenging for the title, and who won the league for the first time in 43 years, and also won the cup. We had around 17,000 home fans in a town that was passionate about football, so it was a good place to be.

“Norway is a beautiful country. The people are very nice and the air seems cleaner than anywhere else. It takes a while to get used to, but by the end me and my family felt 
a part of the community. My son was born in Norway, maybe he will play for them when he’s older, and my daughter learnt fluent Norwegian.

“My daughter was ready to go to primary school, so we decided to come back then, and my wife wanted to come back to work again. So that’s why we came back ultimately. But, overall, it was a great experience and I’m glad I did it.”

I couldn’t help but stay. 
We had around 17,000 home fans in a town that was 
passionate about football