THE opportunities stretch out endlessly in front of Liam Boyce. At 24 years old this quiet but determined Northern Irishman has already achieved more than many of his contemporaries manage in an entire career and has a smattering of German vocabulary to prove it. The feeling lingers, however, that there is a lot more yet to come from the Ross County player.

Boyce’s pedigree suggests he is a player who ought to be playing at a level higher than a mid-ranking Scottish Premiership side. Two spells with Cliftonville yielded a raft of personal accolades, two league medals, two league cups and goals by the barrow load. In between, in the summer of 2010, there was a period when major clubs were falling over each other trying to sign him. When a week’s trial at boyhood heroes Celtic did not lead to a contract being offered, any disappointment was quickly assuaged when Werder Bremen moved to take him to the Bundesliga.

Boyce spent just 13 months in Germany playing with Werder’s under-23 team – Felix Kroos, brother of Toni, was a team-mate – and failed to make the breakthrough to the senior team but there are no regrets about the move.

“I loved it there and I would do it again given the chance,” he said. “It was too good an experience to turn down. I learned some of the language and I’ve still got German friends so it was definitely worthwhile. I’ve no regrets about that at all.

“It made me a far better player with the ball, and improved my movement off the ball as well. In Germany it is all about passing, where here it’s about being more of an athlete and playing with intensity. That spell with Werder made me a far better player. It brought me on a lot.”

Boyce will be part of the County team who this afternoon will look to heap misery on Celtic following their Europa League defeat to Molde. If things had turned out differently he could have been playing for the other side.

“Neil Lennon was the manager and George Boateng was on trial at the same time,” he recalled. “Guys like Aiden McGeady were there, too, and the quality in training was unbelievable. I actually wasn’t surprised they didn’t sign me after that week! It was an unreal experience. I did alright actually. There were no games so I didn’t really think they would sign me on the back of that. It was more a chance for them to take a look at me. So I wasn’t too down about it when they didn’t sign me and I ended up going to Germany a few weeks later. Even just training with players that you’d only seen before on TV or from the stands was quite special.”

It was Derek Adams who signed Boyce for County in the summer of 2014 but he credits the current management team of Jim McIntyre and Billy Dodds – both former strikers – for really honing his development. Already he has matched his total of 11 goals for all of last season, something he puts down to both superior fitness and a freedom to express himself.

“They’ve stripped everything down to basics and got everyone on the same wavelength,” he explained. “Before we were all over the place with people doing different things and that was showing on the pitch. We were getting beaten too often. But now we’re all on the same page. As a player you have a license to go and try things when we have the ball and for me that’s the perfect way to play. You can go and show what you can do.”

Making Northern Ireland’s squad for Euro 2016 is a goal for next summer, while the possibility of one day alighting at a bigger club is also a long-term aim.

“You want to see how far you can go in the game,” he added. “If you keep scoring goals and people keep talking about you then if you’re lucky you might get a move to a bigger club. But I’m very happy working under this manager and being a part of this team.”

Today, he hopes to risk the wrath of his family by helping bring about a County win over Celtic. “I always enjoy the atmosphere at these games, especially as someone who grew up as a Celtic fan. Most of my family are Celtic fans too and they’ll be watching. I think they’ll want me to score but Celtic still to win.”