Barry Robson admits life is good with Middlesbrough and says he does not regret the choice to leave Celtic.
The 32-year old Scotland midfielder departed Parkhead in January 2010 to link up with old Hoops boss Gordon Strachan at the Riverside Stadium before the man who supposedly dumped him, Tony Mowbray, took the reins on Teesside.
But Robson says the decision to leave Celtic was his and feels it has been vindicated with Boro on top of the league, his impressive form and the fact he has been handed the captains armband in the absence of Matthew Bates.
"The Championship is an unbelievably hard league," Robson said.
"We drew with Leicester recently and Sven Goran Eriksson has spent something like £20million on his team.
"There are some massive clubs in this league and their stature means they rarely play in front of crowds less than 25,000.
"We're all aiming for the Premier League.
"For us to be top of the league is fantastic. It's a big achievement and a credit to the players and management.
"It's why I came down here. I'd won the league with Celtic, played and scored in the Champions League and also represented my country.
"But I was anxious to play in England too. That was a big ambition of mine.
"I wanted to do it before I had to retire.
"That was the truth behind me leaving Celtic.
"People thought it was Tony Mowbray who wanted to sell me, but he actually wanted me to stay.
"But Middlesbrough was perfect for me in every respect.
"I'd also seen the Celtic team start to break up. I thought it was time to go.
"I'd enjoyed a lot of success at Celtic and appreciated every moment. But sometimes you get an instinct about moves.
"And I didn't have a problem with Tony Mowbray. People forget that every game under him at Celtic, when I was fit, I played."
