Swansea City new boy Jason Scotland has revealed how big Dennis Lawrence played a major factor in persuading him to sign on at the Liberty Stadium.
After a whirlwind fortnight that saw the striker granted a new work permit to sign for the Swans; get married; and then leave his new wife to join a squad of strangers on a gruelling pre-season training camp in Sweden; Scotland was looking forward to life in a Swansea City shirt.
In his first interview since completing his move from Scottish side St Johnstone on a two-year deal, Scotland spoke about his respect for Swans defender and fellow Trinidad & Tobago defender Dennis Lawrence and the relief when his work permit was finally granted.
"I was relieved when the news finally came through that my application was accepted,'' explained Scotland. "After what happened to me at Dundee United when my work permit was turned down, I knew anything could happen.
"I had set my mind on coming to Swansea, so I would have been devastated if it didn't happen.''
Scotland revealed that talk of a move to Swansea had happened as far back as Christmas time.
"I don't really know exactly how it happened,'' he added. "I knew Dennis was here, Swansea needed a striker and we share the same agent. I suppose all those things came together.
"The first person I turned to for advice was obviously Dennis. We are good pals from our days together with T&T and I've got the utmost respect for him.
"He told me Swansea was a massive club; had a fantastic stadium; tremendous support; was in a nice area and the players were a great bunch of lads.
"He couldn't speak highly enough about the club - and that was good enough for me. Then when I came down to have a look at the stadium I was more than impressed.''
Having secured his work permit and made a mad dash to join up with the team in Sweden, Scotland was quick to settle in.
"In fairness, considering there were so many new faces in the squad, everyone seemed to get along really well. The boys are a good bunch. They played a few pranks on me, being a new boy and all that, but I half expected it.''
Now having made all the introductions, Scotland can't wait to get going properly. Not that he's expecting an easy ride.
"There are four or five top quality strikers at the club so my first aim is to settle in, train hard and win a starting place up front. Only then will I be able to enjoy my football.
"I've always wanted to play in the British league and it's going to be a good challenge for me.
"But I've got a fairly good goalscoring record behind me - and it's something I want to continue at Swansea.''