Ross County midfielder Rocco Quinn is determined to repay the faith shown in him by manager Jim McIntyre.
Quinn was sidelined for six months of last season with a hip injury which required an operation, restricting him to just 15 appearances.
The 28-year-old recovered from the injury to make substitute appearances in four of the Staggies’ last five games of the campaign, and was offered a new one-year contract by McIntyre.
After starting the first game of this season, Saturday’s 2-0 loss against Premiership champions Celtic, Quinn hopes he can enjoy a sustained run in the side and is confident his injury worries are behind him.
Quinn said: “A lot of managers, looking at a player out for six months and on crutches for two months, would have decided there would have been no chance.
“I had a determination to get myself fit and that was all down to Crawford Quinn, the physio, who helped me as well.
“I was determined to get back, pitch in and help the team. The manager showed great belief in me, so there’s a lot to repay and I just hope I can do that for him this season.
“I’m feeling fine. I managed to get the last few games back, which was great. I’ve done every minute of pre-season, so I’ve no complaints.
“The manager got me back involved as soon as I was fit and I also earned the new contract.”
County play Quinn’s former club, Hamilton Accies, in their first home fixture of the season tomorrow and the midfielder claimed his team-mates are upbeat despite starting the campaign with a defeat.
Quinn added: “I’ve been involved in County teams who have lost an early goal at Celtic and then lost three or four.
“But it shows the change the manager has brought to the club. We were determined not to let that happen. We weren’t going to be embarrassed.
“To lose an early goal there could potentially have broken us but we showed strong resolve to ensure it did not happen.
“It’s very encouraging. The early signs when we went away in pre-season were good. The whole outlook was really encouraging and that’s down to the manager.”