Danny Devine says returning to Caley Thistle was an easy decision having enjoyed the best spell of his career with the Highlanders.
Defender Devine has returned for a second spell with Inverness, signing on a two-year deal after leaving Championship rivals Dunfermline earlier this summer.
Northern Irishman Devine was part of Caley Jags’ Scottish Cup winning side under John Hughes in 2015, making 82 appearances before joining Partick Thistle in 2016.
Devine has spent the last two seasons with Dunfermline, but was among 17 players let go by the Pars amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Devine, whose partner is from Aviemore, says the opportunity to return to the Highlands was too good to turn down following such an enjoyable first stint.
Devine said: “Coming back here was always something I wanted to do.
“My first time here was obviously amazing. I had a lot of success with the club and I love it up here as well.
“I had the best moments of my career up here, without a doubt. I’ve nothing but good memories from being here.
“Even when I left, I’d come up for games. I’ve still got a lot of friends at the club and connections locally.
“With everything going on, a lot of clubs didn’t know the situation they were going to be in.
“Once Inverness came in for me, I had no other club in mind. It was a no-brainer for me.”
Devine was in the early stages of his career during his previous three-and-half year stint with Caley Jags, after being brought in by Terry Butcher in 2013.
The 27-year-old hopes to return a more accomplished player following his spells with Partick and Dunfermline, adding: “It seems quite a long time ago I left. I was only 23 so still quite young, especially for a centre-back.
“Those years away have definitely helped me grow and learn. Us centre halves do get better with age.
“Hopefully that’s the case and I can come back and show my experience and what I’ve learned.”
Devine will aim to help John Robertson’s side in their push for promotion from the Championship at the fourth attempt this term.
Having come up against Inverness in recent years, Devine has been impressed by the impact made by Robertson.
He added: “Something I’ve realised, playing against the boys in the last couple of seasons, is they’re very well drilled.
“It is never an easy game against them, whether here in Inverness or down the road.
“Every one of them knows their jobs and they have a good structure to the team.
“I feel like the club is going places, especially under the management they have.
“Credit to the players, they’ve been excellent in the last couple of seasons – and very unlucky.”