Scott Fox believes he owes Ross County a promotion-winning season this term.
The Staggies goalkeeper was a member of the side which was relegated from the Premiership for the first time in the club’s history last season but insists a desire to make amends was the major factor in his decision to commit his future at Dingwall in the summer.
He said: “The target is to come straight back up. My decision to stay was purely based on the fact I enjoy my football here.
“Last season we felt we let the club down and I wanted to try to get us back up and give at least a season.
“It was a long hard season last year mentally with the things that happened and the way we performed as a team was nowhere near good enough.
“Everyone knows that and the fans and chairman deserve better.
“If I had left I would have felt as if I had unfinished business.
“I had two or three meetings with the gaffers in the summer as I didn’t really want to leave but I had to take my family into consideration too and to be fair my wife made it possible for me to sign again.”
Fox’s loyalty has been rewarded with a starting berth in a Championship-leading team but he believes there is still room for improvement at Victoria Park.
He said: “It’s been a positive start. We would have taken being where we are at the start of the season and the only disappointment has been getting knocked out of the League Cup which was a bit of a blow but we put up a good performance.
“We know we have a good squad but I don’t think we are in full flow yet.
“There will be more to come once we are more familiar with each other but it has been a positive start to the campaign.”
County take a break from league duty today when they host League 1 title contenders Raith Rovers in the IRN-BRU Cup today.
The Kirkcaldy side has endured a difficult week following the resignation of manager Barry Smith but Fox insists his side’s focus is on maintaining the strong start to the season.
He said: “Raith may have a new manager in place but for us it is about keeping the momentum going and winning game.
“We want to keep going and build up some steam. We’ve got a strong squad and hopefully we can keep this momentum going. As a group and a player you want success a cup looks good on the CV no matter what it is.
“The league is the priority but we want to keep the confidence going and we don’t want to go to Queen of the South next week on the back of a defeat. We want to win every game.”