On Saturday Samson Gabriel made his Peterhead debut, just a week after sleeping in a train station.

Gabriel was invited to play as a trialist for the Buchan outfit in a closed-doors friendly against Dundee United by Blue Toon boss Jim McInally, this led to the 25-year-old spending the Saturday night sleeping in Edinburgh Waverly train station.

As part of his deal with his agent when he goes on trial with a club, Gabriel has to pay his own expenses, so after getting the train from his base in Manchester to Edinburgh, the Nigeria-born player decided to sleep at the station to save money before getting a train on Sunday to Leuchars where he was picked up by manager McInally.

He impressed McInally enough to earn a one-year contract and after coming off the bench in Peterhead’s 1-0 win over East Fife in the Betfred Cup group stage on Saturday, the midfielder said: “I slept at the station, so I could make the game and it was all worth it in the end.”That week was a bit stressful but it was worth it.

“I got the train from Manchester to Edinburgh and then stayed in the station, if I hadn’t done that I wouldn’t have been able to make the game on Sunday.

“The timing was awkward for me.

“That shows how much I wanted to join Peterhead.

“Once I got the chance to come on trial I definitely wanted to come, so I made sure I was there.”It’s a club I wanted to play for because I have looked at it on the internet. It’s a good family club.”

Gabriel left his last club, Swedish fourth division side Rynninge IK last July.

He still lives in Manchester, but is likely to move to Scotland so that travelling for training and games is easier.

Foul conditions greeted Gabriel at Balmoor on Saturday with strong winds and torrential rain making it difficult to play football.

But Gabriel insists the weather he can expect in Buchan over the course of this season is something he relishes.

He added: “The wind and rain didn’t surprise me because I’m used to it back in Manchester where the weather is exactly the same.

“It’s not something new to me or something that bothers me.

“I actually like the wind and rain because you can get around the pitch without overheating.”

Gabriel has been brought to Peterhead to be a spolier in midfield that disrupts opposition attacks.

He believes he is well suited to the role because of his energy – which he views as his best quality.

Gabriel said: “My best attribute is my energy and closing people down and disrupting play.

“I’m really good at getting around the pitch, so I suppose that’s why I play in midfield.”