Stelios Demetriou has rebuffed claims by Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell that he misled the Staggies with his departure.
Kettlewell expressed his disappointment yesterday after Demetriou had signed for Macclesfield Town, as he believed his reason for leaving the Dingwall club was to return home to Cyprus as his partner had not settled in the north of Scotland.
The former St Mirren full-back, who only signed for County in the summer, has rejected those assertions, stating he has relatives that live close to his new club and he was honest with his intentions from the start.
Demetriou was released by the Championship club over the weekend and the Silkmen announced his signing on Monday evening.
Demetriou said: “I’m not lying, I didn’t play them. I spoke to them (Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson) a couple of days ago and I don’t know why they’ve come out and spoken like this.
“They’ll do what they think is right to protect the club and I understand that – but I was clear before I left that my missus wants to move closer to family and we both have that here. My missus is happier being close to her uncle and cousins, who live in the town where we train, and my uncle lives in Manchester which half an hour away.
“Inverness is not an easy place to move to and settle down because it’s so far north. There’s no two ways about that so I was honest about my reasons for wanting to leave.”
Demetriou made nine appearances for the Staggies this season after his summer switch from Paisley.