Mark Ridgers remains intent on returning to the Premiership and his desire to do so with Caley Thistle underpinned his decision to sign a new long-term deal.
Ridgers earlier this week extended his contract, in a deal which will keep him at Caledonian Stadium until 2024.
The 31-year-old joined Inverness from Partick Thistle in 2017, following the Highlanders’ relegation to the Championship.
Caley Jags have not returned to the top flight since, however Ridgers is still determined to win promotion with his hometown team.
Ridgers said: “It’s not a case of chasing around looking for the best money, or playing in the Premiership.
“When I signed for this club it was to play in the Premiership and I still want to do that.
“Everyone keeps telling me I could play in the Premiership, but I’ve not had the opportunity.
“Some players might go looking for it. We have had players at this club I have played with who have left at the first chance to play in the Premiership, but it’s not worked out.
“I have had one or two inquiries throughout the years I have been here, but ultimately it’s about being happy and enjoying football on and off the pitch.
“Chasing the money around, and chasing bigger and better things in football, it gets to a point where I have seen it.
“It doesn’t work out for everyone. The most important thing is I’m really happy, and the other side of it is that I’m doing my job for the team. The club know that and they’re happy to commit to another few years with myself.”
Ridgers takes inspiration from his former Hearts team-mate Craig Gordon, who at the age of 38 has reclaimed the Scotland number one jersey.
Ridgers added: “I know Craig and I speak to him every so often, he was brilliant with me.
“These kind of guys set examples of showing you don’t have to be mega fit, you just have to look after yourself in a certain way to be able to perform at a high standard.
“It would be brilliant to play in the Premiership with this club, but as long as I’m setting a standard for myself now I know the goal now is to try and go beyond that and get better.
“If I develop more into the latter stages of 30, I’ll continue to play.”
Inverness make the trip to Kilmarnock on Saturday, with both clubs setting the pace in the Championship with a maximum haul of nine points.
Ridgers hopes to carry the momentum into next month, adding: “It’s a positive start to the season. It’s one of the better ones since I’ve been here.
“When you look at the previous years, rather than us catching up, ourselves and Kilmarnock are the pacesetters at the beginning.
“You can’t really get carried away, there’s still a long way to go. But on the back of three wins and three clean sheets, I don’t think we could have asked for a better start.
“Going into the game on Saturday, winning that would be the perfect start taking us into September.”