Ross County striker Billy Mckay is desperate for an opportunity to help Ross County beat the drop and avoid giving him an unwanted treble.
The 29-year-old has been relegated in each of the past two seasons while on loan at Caley Thistle and Dundee United and is facing down a third successive drop with the Staggies sitting at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.
It has been a frustrating season for Mckay. He has made only six starts since signing last summer and ended his wait for his first goal for County in last Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Kilmarnock.
He needed surgery to cure a persistent groin injury last August but insists he is fully fit and simply hasn’t had enough chances to prove what he can do.
He said: “I’ve had to be patient. I was just delighted to get on and score last Saturday and hopefully now I can help the team stay in this division.
“I’ve not felt any problems this season, the physio has helped me massively, so it has just been frustrating to come here, get fit, then the manager changes and I wasn’t really in his plans very much.
“I just want to help the team and I believe I can help us by playing.”
Mckay was a key part of Caley Thistle’s success under Terry Butcher and John Hughes, scoring 62 goals in 141 appearances during his first stint with the club between 2011 and 2015.
He struggled to break into the team after a £150,000 move to Wigan and found himself back north of the border during loan spells with Dundee United and Inverness.
Although he got games and goals under his belt – scoring 12 in 28 for United and four in 14 last season for Caley Thistle – both campaigns ultimately ended in disappointment.
Mckay said: “It’s not a nice situation to be in and being honest, it can affect your enjoyment of playing football.
“You’re sometimes thinking to yourself that all you want to do is get out there on a Saturday and enjoy it.”
County face a crucial match against Hamilton this afternoon and Mckay believes there is still time for his team to show what they’re capable of.
“A couple of wins and we could change things,” he said. “We’ve got the split coming up where everyone at the bottom plays everyone else so as long as we’re in touching distance we can definitely get out of it.
“If you look through our squad, the quality is there and we’ve just got to try to put it right from now until the end of the season.”