PROVING a point to the head coach that let him go won't be Jason Tovey's motivation on Sunday, instead the fly-half is fuelled by impressing the boss that can turn his third spell at the Dragons into a permanent one.

The 29-year-old will pull strings at Rodney Parade on Sunday (kick-off 5.30pm) against Edinburgh, who he left last summer.

Tovey returned to Wales to play for his hometown club Cross Keys in the Principality Premiership with the desire to be close to family meaning he turned down offers from other professional clubs, notably Benetton.

But a return to full-time rugby didn't take long with the Dragons calling him in on permit for their Guinness PRO14 encounters at Ulster and Connacht.

Tovey is still a Keys player – and returned to Pandy Park to play in a 5-5 draw in the mud with Llanelli last weekend – but wants a third spell at Rodney Parade.

"I've got to play well and try and impress the big boss to get something longer term. Hopefully I will prove my point and something will come up," said Tovey, the region's record points scorer, who made his Dragons debut in 2008 and returned in 2013 after a season with Cardiff Blues.

"The first couple of weeks were tough, getting the body used to full-time training again, but I am enjoying it again.

"I didn't really think that I would miss it as much as I did, I had a few games for Keys and really enjoyed it. I kind of fell back into enjoying my rugby again.

"Then the opportunity came up and I wasn't going to turn it down."

Tovey was told in February that he would not be offered a fresh deal at Edinburgh with Richard Cockerill instead looking for New Zealander Simon Hickey and South African Jaco van der Walt to call the shots.

The Welshman insists he isn't motivated by the desire to stick two fingers up to his former boss.

"I loved Edinburgh, it was a great place and I couldn't have asked for anything more in the way that they treated me," he said.

"I got on with all the coaches up there and they changed me as a rugby player, and made me a better person as well.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time up there and I am looking forward to catching up with a few boys this weekend.

"I feel like we left on respectful terms; there's always a little bit of a point to prove but not in a bad way.

"It's part of sport, people move on, coaches prefer other options and I accepted that, it's all worked out in the end."

And Tovey hopes to inflict misery on his old Murrayfield mates, helped by tricks of the trade that he picked up in the Scottish capital.

The fly-half has always been a good points accumulator but since returning to the Dragons he has sparked their attack with his ability to play flat and bring runners into play.

"They want me to show leadership on the field," said Tovey. "I am not getting any younger, although I'm still only 29, and up in Edinburgh they relied on the 10s to lead a lot of things.

"Edinburgh liked the 10 to play flat and I had to adapt to that. It went well and it's probably changed the way that I play – I like taking the ball to the line and having a couple of little snipes myself.

"Coming back to the Dragons, there are a lot of young boys in the squad and it gives me the opportunity to teach them certain things I have learnt."

The last time that Tovey played at Rodney Parade was with Edinburgh in a 27-19 loss in November, 2016. He can't want to be back, this time with the backing of the home faithful.

"I've always loved the place, it's old school and a great stadium," said Tovey. "I was always gutted when they put the new stand in to be honest, the old Argus Terrace was something special, especially on derby days when it was rammed."

But his two years and 34 appearances in the Scottish capital have taught him that the Dragons face a tough test in Newport against the play-off hopefuls.

"Edinburgh stay in the fight and are always in the game until the last minute," he said. "We have got to stay switched on for 80-plus minutes."