Quinn wants to repay gaffer's faith with impressive County form
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ROCCO Quinn is determined to repay the faith Jim McIntyre showed in him by becoming one of Ross County’s mainstays this season.
Many a manager would have consigned a player who was injured for six months to the scrapheap, but Quinn wants to show the County boss why he was right to offer him a new one-year contract.
The former Celtic midfielder was sidelined in October last year with hip injury, which took extensive rehabilitation to recover from and only saw him return in time for the tail-end of County’s survival push.However Quinn says he now feels no ill effects of the injury and has come through pre-season unscathed, culminating in a start and 90 minutes against the champions on the opening day of the season.
The work now begins in earnest as his side prepare for their home opener against Hamilton Accies tomorrow.
“With a lot of managers, looking at a player six months out of the game and on crutches for two months, there would have been no chance,” he said. “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 boys.
“Obviously the manager showed great belief in me so, yes, there’s a lot to repay and I just hope I can do that for him this season.”One of the longer-serving County players, Quinn moved to Dingwall from Queen of the South in 2011 and has made over 100 appearances in dark blue. He was part of the side that gained promotion to the top flight a year later and then went on to achieve a top-six finish in 2013.
The summer has been all-change for the Staggies on and off the park, with an influx of new faces supplementing the playing squad and work at the stadium, such as a new club shop and supporters’ bar, creating a “buzz” around the place.
“The whole outlook was really encouraging for me. That’s down to the manager who has really instilled the belief in the boys,” added Quinn. “You just see about the whole place the buzz, the positivity — the whole vibe about the place is really encouraging.”
McIntyre has a full-strength squad to choose from for Hamilton’s visit tomorrow, with Jamie Reckord recovering from a foot injury in time to be considered.
An early-season spurt by Hamilton last season, under then-manager Alex Neil, saw them soar to the top of the Premiership table. McIntyre believes that shows what can be done when confidence is high.
“Hamilton showed last season, with the momentum they had from winning the play-off and getting off to a fabulous start that it can take you a long way. It’s something we’d like to emulate and get a good start at home,” he said.
