Latest Raith Rovers signing Josh Rae was once Atletico Madrid signing target

Rae, 24, told Raith TV: "My journey started at Celtic when I was really young and I got released, went to Hamilton.

"Then I was just on holiday with my family. Me and my dad were kicking the ball around on a little pitch in Spain and a woman asked me to play in a tournament for them.

"So my dad thought it would be a great idea, he’d be able to watch football so he tried to get me to play.

"I wasn’t so keen but I ended up playing and at the end of the tournament Atletico Madrid scouts went up to the coach of the team asking for my family’s number.

"So they got in touch and invited me over for two weeks. So I went over for two weeks and it was an amazing experience and they wanted me to keep going back over every so often until I was 16 and then sign permanently.

"But that’s when Celtic came back up so I made that decision to go back there.

"Then I ended up at Leeds a few years later. Then at 18 I decided I wanted to make an impact at first team level so I took the decision to go to League Two at Cowdenbeath.

"It’s a different type of journey to a lot of people but I wanted to handle it myself. I believed in myself that I would work up the leagues.

“I was then at Peterhead in League One, Queen of the South in the Championship and then Airdrie and St Johnstone before here.

"The best thing I ever did was going out and playing men’s football at 18.

"It toughened me up a lot. And I think if I didn’t do that at that young age maybe some of the stuff that I’ve been through, I wouldn’t be able to handle.

"It was definitely the correct path.

Rae – who faces a fight with Kevin Dabrowski to be Raith number one – said his strengths would be bringing a calmness to the team and playing out from the back, was also asked if he was ready to regularly start games for Rovers.

He said: “I’m 100% ready. It’s been a kind of up and down season so far at St Johnstone and I just needed that fresh start to kick on again and pick up from where I left off.

"We just need to back each other every single day and push each other right to the limits.

"And whoever gets the nod on the Saturday, you back them the full way, because everything else is out of your control.”

Rae is not cup tied so he would be eligible to play against Celtic in this Saturday’s Scottish Cup fifth round tie which kicks off at 5.30pm.