It was only when Richard Brittain had found a quiet corner of the Netherlands yesterday that he finally chose to speak up about St Johnstone.

His voice cracked more than once during the conversation, perhaps the result of having remained quiet so long about his reasons for reneging on a pre-contract agreement with the Perth club this summer but more likely it owed to the heavy emotion which he attached to that decision. His lip quivered, but his resolve is firm. "I'm in the right place," said the midfielder.

That is with Ross County, rather than going through with an agreed move to McDiarmid Park on a two-year contract. Brittain might have been looking towards a Europa League tie in Belarus had he done so, although there had been days last season when he could not even countenance leaving the house. Training, matches, the vagaries of a prospective move to Perth – all of that became a blur as it was mixed with his family life; the illness of his wife, Diane, and paternal duty to their 10-month-old daughter taking due precedence. Any effort to concentrate on the fitba was simply Sisyphean.

County would eventually finish fifth in the Scottish Premier League but their captain remained low, only breaking cover to deliver updates to Derek Adams, the County manager, and chairman Roy MacGregor. The 29-year-old's wife had fallen ill late in her pregnancy and it is understood that her condition worsened again after she gave birth – the intimate nature of the situation encouraging Brittain to keep it where he could better protect his privacy: hidden. He might later resolve that coming clean would have allowed for less of a messy break up from St Johnstone, while it would also have muted the discordant reaction to his intention to stay in the Highlands.

"People outside of the club don't know the full story. They just want to comment on what they think is the truth and some of the abuse I've taken has been nothing short of criminal. After me signing for St Johnstone, things in my personal life changed. My wife took ill health. I needed to stay where I was because we needed a strong family network around about us. The support I receive from all of the boys, the management staff, the manager, director of football and the fans has been incredible. I'm convinced I made the right decision."

Has been made to carry the baggage of the whole affair with him to County's pre-season camp in Delden. That he would finally unburden himself yesterday might have felt cathartic, while it also served as a sort of public apology to St Johnstone. "I began to realise that I needed to stay in the Highlands. It's nothing against St Johnstone. It is nothing against the club or the players," said Brittain.

"People seem to think there was a financial reason I turned around and stayed and I can categorically state it had nothing to do with finances. It wouldn't have mattered if Real Madrid or anybody else had come in.

"I got asked about that on social network sites and I got slaughtered in people's columns in newspapers. They said I was a disgrace to the jersey – these people don't realise the importance of what was going on in my life at the time.

"You sign to move to another club and you think it is the right decision and then circumstances change. Other people have signed pre-contracts and gone ahead with it. There will be other people in the world who have gone ahead with it and wished they had never done it. I didn't want to be in that position. Staying at Ross County in the Highlands was the thing to do for me."