Upon his return he endured a frustrating 2008–09 season, losing his place in the team to Craig Cathcart. He made just 22 appearances, with 8 of them coming as a substitute, which prompted then manager Paul Sturrock to challenge him to put the season behind him and rediscover his form of 2007–08. He began the 2009–10 season strongly with a goal against Crystal Palace but soon found himself out of the team again, and upon the opening of the January transfer window he was sent out on-loan to Oldham Athletic for a month by Paul Mariner in order to gain first-team football.