Draper enjoying football again at Ross County

ROSS DRAPER says he is finally enjoying being a professional footballer again after two years of relegation torment.

The Ross County midfielder crossed the Highland derby divide in August last year after a miserable last full season with Caley Thistle.

There was hope of better days in Dingwall after the Inverness club’s tumble from the Premiership under Richie Foran’s management, but repeat disaster struck after Owen Coyle’s troubled spell in charge.

Such was the grim nature of those two seasons, Draper revealed it had even tainted life outside of football.

Now, though, the 30-year-old from Wolverhampton is loving being part of the kind of winning mentality he enjoyed in his first four seasons at Caley Thistle under Terry Butcher.

County sit second in the Championship promotion race, 11 games unbeaten ahead of today’s (Saturday’s) crucial home test against third top Dundee United.

Draper said: “If I’m being totally honest, I hadn’t enjoyed football for two years before this season. It’s not nice losing week-in, week-out when you can’t get out of that rut.

“It ruins your life. You go home on a Saturday night and it feels like a long weekend and if you’re down in the dumps the missus isn’t happy that you’re not going out!

“It is a vicious circle. Going into work on a Monday isn’t nice, watching the videos back of you getting beat.

“I still loved going into training for those two years, but I just couldn’t enjoy it fully when we couldn’t get rid of that losing habit.

“This year, we’ve had the other side of the coin, where we can’t get out of the habit of winning games. That’s a good habit to have and hopefully that continues.

“Everyone’s on a high now and there’s a brilliant atmosphere around the club. It’s a positive place to be. The managers have instilled that since day one.”

Draper took his share of mostly good-natured verbal abuse from Caley Thistle supporters in last weekend’s drawn Highland derby.

In truth, many of those supporters remain indebted to his efforts in five years of distinguished service after coming north from Macclesfield Town.

Whatever else transpires, Draper will never forget the good times with Caley Thistle, including a famous Scottish Cup triumph and repeated top six finishes.

The big midfielder stressed: “In my time at Inverness, there were four seasons where it was absolutely brilliant.

“We went into games just expecting to win, even with Celtic, Hibs and Aberdeen in there. That was a strange feeling considering how good the league was, but it showed how well we were doing.

“This season is very similar. We go into every game believing we can win. I’m not saying we’re always going to win, but that’s how we approach the game.

“It’s the approach we take in trying to break teams down if they’re sitting in and it’s how we approach games like the Inverness one when they try to have a go at us.

“We’re enjoying the challenge of both sides of what a game can bring at this level.

“We’re enjoying being up there with Ayr United and Dundee United, a race that hopefully will continue right through the season.”

United seem like a team revitalised under Robbie Neilson’s management, with three wins and a draw enhancing their promotion push.

County have beaten United twice home and away, with the 5-1 triumph at Tannadice proving the final straw for Csaba Laszlo’s reign as manager.

Draper added: “It looks like a completely different United now. I spoke to a few of the Inverness boys when they played them and they said it was like a John Hughes kind of team – complete football, with wingers coming inside, things like that.

“We know what to expect from them, but we’re at home and try to win every game. If we can start right and apply ourselves in the right way, I’m confident we can get the win.”