Ross County attacker Liam Boyce reckons feeling at home was the reason he signed a new two-year contract at Victoria Park.
Boyce celebrated his new deal by securing County a crucial point in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Motherwell after Scott McDonald had given Well the lead.
The result keeps County six points ahead of second-bottom Motherwell with just three Scottish Premiership games to play.
The Northern Irishman has scored nine goals in his first season with the Staggies. He believes the move from part-time football with Cliftonville in his homeland has been a huge success and he is keen to repay manager Jim McIntyre’s faith in him by carrying his form into next season.
The 24-year-old said: “I am comfortable and I am used to being with the staff and players, like the club I was with in Northern Ireland.
“They made me feel welcome, so it is good to be wanted. The manager has faith in me, he’s been playing me every week and I have been scoring.
“It is good to be wanted and I wanted to stay, I am happy where I am.”
Joining Boyce in extending his stay for a further two years was fellow attacker Craig Curran. The former Werder Bremen forward believes the pair have quickly formed a strong partnership.
Boyce added: “Craig has really helped me and has bags of energy. He is quicker than me and we seem to work well together.
“We seem to have a good partnership. He knows where I am and I know where he is – it is perfect.”
Boyce was relieved County remained six points ahead of Motherwell but regretted not taking all three points to virtually secure their top-flight status, with midfielder Rocco Quinn missing a great late opportunity to win the game.
Boyce added: “It was important we did not lose but we feel it was a real missed opportunity. We will just have to move on to next week.
“We have to keep going until it is impossible for us to go down because stranger things have happened in football. Teams can go on bad runs, so we will keep going until we are safe.
“There are three games remaining and we want to try to win them all. We need to get the points on board as quickly as possible.”