AARON DORAN knows some footballers reach the age of 34 before they appreciate just how precious their playing career is. The Inverness Caledonian Thistle winger insists, for him, the penny dropped at 24. A year out with knee damage focused the mind of the young Irishman who resolved never to take playing football for granted again.

A tendency to attract the wrong kind of headlines away from the game and live it up too much on his days off are now consigned to the past for the former Blackburn Rovers youth.

These days, when manager Richie Foran watches Doran going about his business, he is blown away by his level of commitment and willingness to learn.

“I’m a bit older now and I don’t go out as much," said Doran. "I was out for the whole season last year so I take pride in my work now. I go to training and try to learn things, whereas, a few years ago, I was just going through the motions. Now I look at what I can improve – I want more goals and I want to help the team move up.”

Doran admits it was the long hours on the treatment table and in the gym recuperating from a feared career-threatening knee injury that brought about the re-think.

“You do overthink things when you’re out for long. I was injured last year. A football career isn’t long, so I need to push myself and get to the best level I can. I want to do it early, so I’m going to learn as much as I can. I was a bit worried about the future last season, but the club have looked after me. Hopefully I can pay them back with my performances.”

Doran blazed back on to the scene with some fine displays before taking a more minor injury after a draw with Hearts. Since his second return this season, Inverness have lost three matches and plunged into dangerous territory at the foot of the tightly-packed Ladbrokes Premiership.

He said: “Against Hearts I felt a little groin strain, but fortunately it was just 10 days. I’ve been in the last three games but I’d like to add more goals and create more chances. We’re sitting at the bottom of the table, but we know how close it is and we’re hoping to show our fans what we can do. We want to get a win against Hamilton. We want to push up the table and hopefully it starts this Saturday.”

While Doran wants Inverness to surge free of relegation danger, he insists that if it comes to a dog-fight, few teams are better equipped.

“We’re not panicking, but it’s not good when you look at the table and you’re bottom," he added. "But it is really tight and there are a lot of games coming up over the Christmas period.

“One or two good results and you’re right back up there, that’s what we’re aiming to do.

We had a meeting during the week – just a little talk. We discussed little things we need to do on and off the field. We know what we have to do and we’ll put on a good performance this weekend. We’re looking to pick up the three points – we’re not going out there for anything else.”