The climax of Ross County’s Championship title winning campaign has come too soon for midfielder Iain Vigurs.
Aberdeen-born Vigurs has endured an injury-ravaged first season back at Dingwall since returning for a second spell from Caley Thistle last summer, missing nearly six months of action with a foot injury.
Making his return in the title-clinching 4-0 victory at home to Queen of the South, before netting in the final day 3-2 loss at Falkirk, has only served to whet Vigurs’ appetite to play more games just as the curtain has come down on the season.
He said: “To be injured that whole time, with an injury I didn’t really know when I’d be back from or how I would recover an heal, it has just been an ongoing process.
“To finally get over the line and get on the pitch – I honestly felt like a 10-year-old boy again. It was pretty fitting – it was the same with Liam Fontaine as well.
“I was buzzing just to get out there – although I wish it was the start of the season.”
Although he has watched much of the campaign from the sidelines, Vigurs has taken enjoyment from watching his Staggies team-mates romp to the Championship title at the first attempt, following their relegation from the top-flight 12 months ago.
The 30-year-old added: “To watch the boys win the league has made it a lot easier. If I was watching it and they were getting beaten every week, I would be thinking ‘I can’t even help out the boys.’
“But they have done an absolute sterling job since the start of the season – they have been brilliant. They have shown real character in a lot of games and you can see that by the table.”
Vigurs’ title triumph is his second with the Staggies, having been part of Derek Adams’ title-winning squad of 2012 before opting to join Motherwell the following year.
Vigurs says the success during his initial stint at Victoria Park made him keen to return last summer, adding: “The reason I came back was that I had such a good time in my first spell here. I enjoyed every minute of it.
“With the people around the club, it’s such a lovely close-knit group. Ross County has always been my club, so that was always the reasoning for coming back.
“Albeit it has been a very frustrating season for me personally, for the club it has been brilliant. Myself and Stuart Kettlewell signed here first time around at the same time, while Steven Ferguson was my assistant manager at the time.
“Richie Brittain is with the reserves and he was in the team along with Michael Gardyne, while there’s also Don Cowie. You’ve got all these boys that have been here before and know exactly what it’s all about, they’ve been part of winning teams with winning mentalities.
“They know how to get across the line and I think it’s no coincidence what has happened this season.”