Danté Leverock is refusing to allow a turbulent spell in Poland mar his aspirations of playing professional football again.

The Bermuda captain contemplated quitting the game because of racial discrimination he suffered while at Polish second-tier side Radomiak Radom, eventually severing ties with the club in February, citing “financial and cultural factors”.

After having time to reflect, the 28-year-old, who has since rejoined Robin Hood, is not giving up on plying his trade overseas in the future, despite his unsavoury experience in Central Europe.

Leverock believed he was singled out because of his colour and treated differently from white players at the club, which is situated about 60 miles south of the Polish capital Warsaw.

“I’ve taken time to self-reflect and any experience I have I try to take the positives from it,” Leverock said. “I’ve moved on now and I’m back here playing for Robin Hood.

“However, I’m only 28 and I still have the ambitions to play abroad, so we’ll see what happens — I’m just playing everything by ear.

“Being back home has given me time to think things over and I still have that mindset of being up for any challenges and experiences that are out there.

“I never thought I’d be given the opportunity to play in Poland, for example, but the chance came up and I took the risk.

“I’m someone that will take chances. If there’s an environment to play abroad, then I’ll look into it. I’m used to being uncomfortable.

“I’m feeling rejuvenated, sharp and I still have plans to play abroad. I still have that ambition, but right now I’m back home and focused on doing my best to keep fit and playing well for Hood.”

Having returned to the island and spent the summer training with Hood, the towering defender revealed head coach John Barry Nusum and international team-mate Jaylon Bather were deciding factors in sealing his return to the club he left in 2018.

“JB Nusum and Jaylon Bather were the main reasons I signed again for Hood,” said Leverock, who endured mixed fortunes on debut on Saturday night.

The centre half put Hood 2-0 up against Southampton Rangers, cashing in on a half-cleared corner, before being forced off with a calf strain. Rangers took advantage by coming back to force a 2-2 draw.

“I’ve worked with the manager before and Jaylon is one of my best friends both in and out of football,” Leverock said.

“Jaylon has been the top defenders on the island the last few years and I’m looking forward to playing regularly with him again and making that partnership stronger.

“It felt good to be back and scoring on my debut in front of a good crowd. I was annoyed to come off with a knock, but I’m feeling fine and looking forward to the game next week.”

Despite being out of the professional environment, Leverock is determined to maintain his training and performance levels, even if that means undergoing solo sessions at Goose Gosling Field, as he has been, particularly with Bermuda facing key qualification campaigns next year.

Kyle Lightbourne’s side have been drawn alongside Canada, Aruba, Cayman Islands and Suriname in group B of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers taking place in March, while also being drawn against Barbados in the first phase of matches in the preliminary round of the Gold Cup, taking place in July.

“There are some big games coming up for Bermuda and so I have to make sure I’m in an environment where I’m training and playing regularly,” Leverock added.

“With those big games coming up, I have to stay fit even if that means doing a lot on my own to try and maintain those professional levels.

“Clubs [in Bermuda] train only twice a week and I’d say to all locally based players that if you want to be playing at the level of facing the likes of Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, you have to be training full time and be ready.

“Some people have preconceived ideas that if you’re playing abroad, they’re automatically picked, but that’s not the case. I’m trying my best to replicate what professional clubs do because I still have that ambition.”

Turning his attention to the those qualifiers, Leverock believes the team should relish testing themselves again against the region’s powerhouses.

“One thing I will say is that the national squad have evolved our mindset and we believe we belong alongside the top teams in the region,” he said. “We fear no one,” he said.

“We feel we belong at a higher level now and we want to get to that next level where we are beating those top teams regularly.

“If this generation can sustain the levels we have seen recently, then the future is bright for Bermuda.”