IT MIGHT seem a long way from Huyton to the Highlands, but Greg Tansey feels perfectly at home.
And the Caley Thistle midfielder yesterday proved it by signing a new deal keeping him at the club until summer 2017, with the option of a further year.
The length of contract can be taken as a reflection of how settled and contented Tansey feels at the club and in life outside football. The 26-year-old play-maker, who hails from the same tough Liverpool suburb that spawned Steven Gerrard and Joey Barton, has upped sticks before but is now eager to make Inverness his long-term home.
Tansey said: "From day one, since last January when I returned here from Stevenage, I've been really happy. "I like living here and it's the best changing room I've been part of. Under the current manager and the style of play we've got, I didn't see any need to leave. "It's a club going in the right direction and one I want to be a part of.
"It's a very different environment from what I was used to growing up in Huyton. Back home, the cats walk around in twos! It is a lovely place. You go out into town and everyone is really nice to you - they make you feel welcome. It's very relaxed even though people obviously have work to do.
"There's just something about living up here that I like. There was no point wasting that and I knew I wanted to spend my best years playing football up here. If someone send to me six years ago I'd be playing football up here in the north of Scotland, I'd have laughed at them. It's funny how life works. "But I'm really enjoying it up here and long may it continue."
Tansey admits that negotiations were pretty straightforward with Inverness and he left most of it to his agent while concentrating on his team's tilt for the top six and Europe. He said: "The negotiations were fairly simple. It didn't really take too long. The chairman Kenny (Cameron) was speaking to my agent more than me. Sometimes you feel it's not even about you!
"I wanted it to be simple and quick and I'm just glad it's finally done. I can concentrate on kicking on for the rest of the season."
Tansey had cut a far less settled figure in 2011/12 under Terry Butcher, when he hit five goals in 39 appearances but opted to pack his bags for Stevenage. It was a more financially rewarding deal but after a good first season back in England a managerial change soured matters.
Tansey stressed: "A player always wants to play at the highest level they can - and I'm one of them. "But I didn't see the point in taking risks when I've got it so good here. I didn't see the point in burning any bridges. I'm happy living here and I didn't want the same to happen again. The grass isn't always greener."
Caley Thistle have a whole clutch of players with contracts still to re-negotiate before the summer, including prize assets like Billy Mckay, Graeme Shinnie and Marley Watkins. Tansey hopes his pledge to the club will help others make their minds up.
He said: "We've got a few lads out of contract and I'm hoping the rest follow suit. "We've got a very good squad here that can compete with anyone in this league. I'm hoping that the squad sticks together and we can just add to it. We can become a bigger force in the league.
"Players here are coming into their prime. We're only going to get better as a team the longer we're together.
"The longer we buy into what the manager is doing and get used to playing that way, the better. You've seen this season we are doing that. If the current group stay together, I can only see the club going forward."
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