New Crusaders star says move wouldn't have been possible without support of family and friends during injury hell

​Nixon was confirmed as a Crues player earlier this week, signing a two-and-a-half year contract at Seaview, and his first task will be taking on reigning Premiership champions Larne tonight.

The 26-year-old required surgery on a serious ACL injury picked up while playing for Carrick Rangers which kept him out for the majority of last season, only returning in March to feature in five league matches.

He joined Premier Intermediate League outfit Queen’s University on loan last summer to reignite his love for football once again and not only has he achieved that, but his volume of goals – 19 in as many games – has also earned Nixon a huge move to Stephen Baxter’s side.

Having dealt with self-doubt and fought through adversity, the ex-Coleraine striker feels he’s ready to thrive in top-flight football.

"I feel I'm more mentally strong this time and I'm in the best physical shape of my career,” he said. “After the big injury I had I feel like I'm in great shape and ready to go for it.

"I couldn't have done it without my friends and family helping me because it was a long journey...where I am now is full credit to them.

"I'm just reaping the rewards of what they've given me.

"After the surgery I couldn't walk and simple things like going to the toilet I couldn't do. I was thinking 'it can't be like this' and I spoke to my wife and she told me to see how I got on before making any decisions.

"I just had a wee baby as well so I was thinking about not risking playing football incase I got hurt again and was thinking about her. I stuck with it and my wife kept encouraging me.

"My friends and family kept filling my head full of confidence and that I'd come back better. If I didn't have the friends and family around me at that time I would have really struggled."

Taking a step back into the third-tier isn’t a move every player would be willing to make, but having scored against the likes of Linfield in the BetMcLean Cup earlier this season, it has given Nixon even more confidence that he can succeed.

His focus was on continuing that journey with Queen’s before assessing potential options in the summer, but one phone call changed everything.

"It was a step that I needed to take because I was getting too caught up with a lot of things and really losing the love for football,” he added. “I was playing just for the sake of it.

"I loved the environment at Queen's, the way people treated me was unbelievable and I can't thank them all enough.

"My full focus this year was just to get back to enjoying the game again and scoring goals. When the opportunity comes up at a club like Crusaders it's very hard to turn down.

"It all happened very fast. There was a missed call and I rang back and it was Stephen Baxter and I just got a pure adrenaline rush.

"I've scored 19 so far and my confidence is high. I'm probably in the best mindset I've been in a very long time so going into Crusaders now I feel full of confidence and ready to take the challenge on.”

Matches like tonight’s are exactly why Nixon was so eager to make the move and he’s excited by the prospect of testing himself against the best.

"There's no better way to get into it than under the Friday night lights on TV against the reigning champions,” he said. “It's going to be a massive test but I'm looking forward to it.

"I played against Linfield earlier in the season for Queen's and I scored, so that was a good test. It's going to be more of a test now playing these teams week in, week out and I'm going to relish it. It'll let me know where I am as a player."