Jason Naismith is confident he can relaunch his career at Ross County after returning to the Staggies until the end of the season.
Defender Naismith has rejoined County for a second spell after having his contract at English League One side Peterborough United cancelled, although he cannot play for Stuart Kettlewell’s men until January.
Naismith previously enjoyed a successful 18-month stint with County, after being brought to Dingwall from St Mirren by Jim McIntyre in January 2017.
The 26-year-old won the Staggies’ players’ player of the year award in his only full season at the club, which earned a move to Posh for a reported £250,000 fee following County’s relegation from the Premiership in 2018.
Naismith spent a fruitful spell on loan at Hibernian last season which was cruelly curtailed by a knee ligament injury in January. He has since been unable to force his way back into Peterborough’s side, with his only two first team appearances this term coming in the EFL trophy.
Naismith counts his previous spell in the Highlands as one of the most enjoyable periods of his career, and he took little time to think about the chance to return.
Naismith said: “It happened quite quickly. I learned of the interest and I saw it as a chance to prove myself, and that I’m still a good player.
“It was an easy decision for me to make. I absolutely loved my time up here. There’s not many better places in the world than the Highlands to be honest. It’s lovely to stay here and I loved every minute of it.
“If you are in a good place off the park, nine times out of 10 you will be in a good place on it and it showed on the park with my performances.
“I’m just looking forward to getting that going again.
“I think it was an easy decision for the manager as well, because he spoke to me and realised my hunger for it.
“I’m not exactly done – I’m still 26 so I can still develop and there’s a lot of improvement still in me.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how that pans out.
“It makes sense for both parties.”
Naismith is confident he will return to Dingwall a better player as a result of his last two seasons of playing regularly for both Peterborough and Hibs.
He added: “It was enjoyable. In the first year I played 50 games in the season.
“In the pre-season after that I came back in good shape, but the manager Darren Ferguson and I never really saw eye-to-eye on a few things.
“It became apparent it would probably be better for me to leave. As soon as I got the opportunity to go to Hibs, it was a no-brainer for me and I loved my time there. I was playing well before the injury abruptly ended it.
“The last couple of years has definitely made me a better player, with the experiences of challenging to go up to the Championship and a different style of football.
“It hasn’t been entirely successful, with the injury as well, but it will certainly hold me in good stead in my career.”
Naismith insists his injury woes are behind him and he is eager to make the most of his fresh start, adding: “I have done my ACL in one knee before, so for it to happen in the other knee was a bitter pill to swallow but I was in good stead because of my previous experience.
“I felt in the summer I was ready to go to a club, I was back from my injury, but nobody took a chance on me which was disappointing.
“Joined in with the Covid-19 situation, it was hard for clubs to do business and take a risk on somebody coming back from a cruciate, which I understood as well.
“I have had to prove myself over the last couple of months. I have played reserve games at Peterborough, and I have not missed a day of training since the end of July.
“I was just grateful for the opportunity Ross County have handed me. I’m just so eager to get going and repay the faith they have shown in me.
“I trained for the first time on Tuesday, so it was good to get back.”
