Ross Jenkins loves Saturdays again.

From the moment he wakes up this morning the Crawley midfielder will be in his element as he prepares for the clash with his former club Plymouth.

It wasn’t always the case though. For the previous two seasons Jenkins had dreaded the weekends as it reminded him of what he was missing.

The 24-year-old didn’t play a single game in his final season at Watford and last year he was unable to find a club despite being willing to play for free.

He was rescued from obscurity by Reds boss Mark Yates two weeks ago when he was thrown straight in to action against Yeovil for what was his first game since April 2013.

Jenkins admits his spell out of the game was “depressing” but is now determined to make up for lost time and earn a permanent contract when his short-term deal comes to an end in January.

He said: “It’s good to just be involved again. I have missed the matchdays and build up to games so it’s been an enjoyable couple of weeks. My last year at Watford didn’t really go to plan and when I left clubs were concerned why I hadn’t been playing. It found it hard to get into a new club and the fact I wanted to take my time killed me a little bit too.

“I went to Chicago and it didn’t work out and when I came back it was mid-season when clubs were not looking for new players.

“It was the same story in the summer as clubs wanted to know what I had been doing since I left Watford. I explained the situation but clubs are only interested in the games you have played and one even asked if I’d failed a drugs test as I’d not played for two years!

“I was focused on staying at a good standard and even explored opportunities abroad (Holland and Turkey) but I’d always get the same feedback – ‘where have you been, why haven’t you been playing’.

“It was annoying as I was willing to go and play for free. I just wanted to start playing again as it was depressing being at home watching results on Saturdays.

“When you are not playing you don’t know what to do with yourself. I tried to watch Watford as much as possible but it’s not the same as preparing for a game and being in the changing rooms and the emotions and feelings afterwards.

“You do miss it but luckily age is on my side so I’ve got a few years to make up for it now. If it had happened later on in my career it would have been worse but I’ve got plenty of years ahead of me.”

Jenkins is grateful to Reds for offering him the chance to resurrect a career which had started so brightly seven years ago.

He made his debut for Watford as a 17-year-old and went on to make 95 appearances – 81 in the Championship – for the Hornets as well as winning one cap for England at under-20 level.

Jenkins added: “I just want to get as many games as possible and ideally I’d like to stay here as it’s a good club. I’m only here until January so I’ve got to try to do as much as I can to impress. There is a little bit of pressure on me but it is good pressure as I know I’ve got to put in good performances to ensure I’m not in the same situation as I was before.”

Defender Mitch Hancox, 21, goes straight into the squad tomorrow after joining from Championship side Birmingham on a month’s loan.

The 21-year-old goes straight into the squad for tomorrow’s trip to Home Park to play Plymouth Argyle.

Hancox joined the Blues in 2012 and has made 33 appearances for the club, either in central defence or at left-back, including one this season against Gillingham in the Capital One Cup.“But we are at the bottom of the league so it’s not about how well I play at the moment, it is about the team and getting three points. Tuesday was a big win but we know we need to build on that.”

Jenkins