FOUR months after leaving under acrimonious circumstances, Scott McGowan has returned to 1874 Northwich.

The club's record goalscorer left to join Macclesfield in September shortly after returning to the club from Nantwich Town but was confirmed to have been re-signed by Greens last night.

He is available for selection when 74 host Workington tomorrow and if he features, it will be his 200th appearance for the club.

McGowan acknowledged and accepted blame for the hurt he caused by the way he left the club last time, admitting he "went about it the wrong way."

However, he is now determined to put that right.

“I do worry what people think,” he told the club website.

“And the way I left [in September] means I must prove myself again.

“I am to blame for the tension that caused; it’s entirely on me, although of course that wasn’t my intention.

“I went about it the wrong way, and I didn’t communicate with the people that I should have. Instead, I bottled things up.

“The worst thing about that is I ended up letting down precisely those I didn’t want to, and it’s my job to put that right. I will too.

“I’ve kept in touch with pretty much all the lads.

“The management team has checked in on me too while I’ve had personal problems that are unrelated to football, and that meant a lot during a difficult moment.

“It’s natural to reflect, and you do appreciate the loyalty of the supporters and the affection that they feel towards a club they own and run.

“That’s an environment which has brought the best out in me as a player."

McGowan marked his return in the summer by scoring a hat-trick to help 1874 retain the Macron Cup and scored twice in the club's first six league and cup games.

Then came the news that he was being courted by Macclesfield and it seemed the 137-goal man had pulled on the green shirt for a final time.

Co-manager Wayne Goodison says the club had to think long and hard about whether to take the chance to bring McGowan back.

However, after getting the squad's approval, they moved to make the return to Townfield happen.

“We don’t bear grudges,” he said

“That applies to any player that leaves after playing for us, and not just Scott.

“Everybody makes mistakes and during conversations with him, we’ve listened while he apologised for one he made.

"We were annoyed, but not for football reasons – even though we were about to lose our leading scorer.

“Our frustration was down to how it happened – we really like Scott, and we’d been through a lot with him.

"For him not to feel able to communicate to us what he was thinking was disappointing but also, on reflection, perhaps we might have been more aware how we could have done things differently at that time.

“If the lads in the dressing room had reservations, we wouldn’t have made it. But they don’t.

“Look at it this way; if a player with Scott’s track record becomes available, then should we be interested? Of course, it’s obvious that we should.

“And that’s what Wool (captain Matt Woolley) said too; ‘How are we going to feel if Scott plays against us, and scores, knowing that we had an opportunity to bring him back?’

“We didn’t want to find that out."