Caley Thistle midfielder Greg Tansey has rejected suggestions he is not concerned about his club’s looming relegation ahead of his summer move to Aberdeen.
Tansey agreed a pre-contract deal with the Dons in March and will join Derek McInnes’ side at the end of the season on a three-year contract.
Tansey is trying to help Caley Jags in their unlikely bid for Premiership survival, with Richie Foran’s men having slipped seven points adrift at the foot of the table with four games left.
The Englishman will end his second spell with the Highlanders, having rejoined in January 2014 following an 18-month spell with Stevenage.
Tansey will not have to deal with the consequences of relegation, but is angered by the idea he would let his team-mates down.
Tansey said: “I know people have been asking me if I’m just going to down tools, and leave my mates in the lurch. It’s not the case. I take it as a bit of an insult.
“I understand people have got to ask questions, but if they know me and know us as a team, nobody is like that.
“Nobody wants that on their cv and nobody wants it to happen to their mates, even though a player might be leaving.
“The idea I would go out there and down tools or whatever – anyone who is a professional in anything couldn’t do that. I couldn’t anyway.
“It doesn’t bother me, people have an opinion, but it’s up to me in these last games to show that it’s not the case at all.”
Tansey’s move to Aberdeen fell through in January 2016, with Caley Jags rejecting a £200,000 bid for the player.
The 28-year-old has learned to take the talk in his stride and added: “I’ve been in the spotlight, people have had their say on things over the past 18 months. They can keep talking, it really doesn’t bother me.
“I focus on me and the lads I’m playing with, and that’s it. I wouldn’t let anything like that affect me because it’s too important to the team, to be downing tools and feeling sorry for myself.
“It’s not the case at all. We’ve had good times at the club but we’ve got four games to keep us where we should be.
“It would hurt me more than anything if the lads thought I wasn’t pulling my weight.”