Challenge of getting Inverness Caledonian Thistle back into the Premiership tempted Broadfoot north
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New Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender Kirk Broadfoot says it was the challenge of earning promotion back to the Premiership that tempted him to the Highlands.
The 36-year-old former Scotland international was not short of options after leaving Kilmarnock at the start of the off-season.
He had been training with Caley Thistle’s Championship rivals Queen of the South, but opted to join Billy Dodds’ revamp at the Caledonian Stadium instead.
Broadfoot’s former club will be seen by many as the favourites to win the Championship this season, but he thinks it will be an open title race – and one that will include Inverness all the way.
“That’s why I’m here, I feel as if with this squad and this manager we’ve got a good chance,” Broadfoot explained.
“I think there’s another six or seven teams in this league that will be thinking the same, it’s wide open.
“In previous years you looked at the likes of Hearts, Hibs and Rangers with huge budgets as the clear favourites.
“This year, there are probably six or seven teams looking at it and thinking they have a chance.
“Everyone will probably say Kilmarnock are the favourites, because they say they have kept the same budget as they had in the Premiership.
“But deep down I think six or seven teams will be thinking they’ve got a chance of promotion.”
Broadfoot had considered retirement in the wake of going down from the top flight with Killie and then leaving Rugby Park.
Clearly, though, he decided against it, and he does not want one of his final memories on a football pitch to be the pain of relegation.
That determination to end his career on a high note is something that will fuel him to taste success once again with his new teammates at Inverness.
“It was just the three or four days after I got relegated where I just thought it maybe wasn’t for me any more,” Broadfoot recalled.
“That was such a low to be honest, it’s hard to take in.
“After having a few days off, I knew I wasn’t ready to retire. I was bored already, and my wife was getting annoyed with me. I ended up back in the gym, and I just knew I wasn’t ready, so that’s why I’m still playing.
“Obviously I didn’t want to end my career with a relegation, and I’m hungry and driven to try and get promotion back to the Premiership.
“That’s one of the many reasons I’m here.
“I feel as if this group have got a chance, so I’m looking forward to that and I suppose it’s a wee bit extra motivation for me after that relegation.”
Broadfoot could be in line to make his Caley Thistle debut tomorrow night against Peterhead in the Premier Sports Cup after training at other clubs over the off-season.
