Raith Rovers' Kyle Turner: Partick Thistle going up last season would have totally changed my career choice
Having suffered the heartache of Partick Thistle’s agonising 5-4 Scottish Premiership play-off final penalty shootout loss to Ross County after blowing a three-goal cushion to draw 3-3 on aggregate after extra-time in the second leg in Dingwall, Turner, 26, then proceeded to go full circle by joining the Staggies and their then manager Malky Mackay just 17 days later under freedom of contract.
Moving onto January and having made 17 Premiership appearances for the Highland side, Turner joined high-flying Championship outfit Raith Rovers on loan until the end of this season after his game time was limited under now departed County manager Derek Adams, who has since been replaced in the top flight strugglers’ hotseat by Don Cowie.
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Hide AdWell travelled midfielder Turner told the Fife Free Press: "Joining Ross County from Partick Thistle after what happened in the play-offs was probably a bit of a weird situation to start with. But you're a professional footballer, there's going to be ups, there's going to be downs.
"You need to take the hits on the way, you need to take the good as it comes.
"I had to put last season's disappointment to bed and focus on the next season, how it could be a successful one and how I could personally do well as well.
"One hundred per cent, if Thistle had gone up to the Premiership last season I would have probably stayed at Thistle. It's a great club. You saw that in the play-offs with the support they took to all the games.
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Hide Ad"The Ross County game especially, 2,500 fans up to Ross County.
"Thistle is a big club as well, one which should potentially be in the Premiership, like Raith Rovers and Dundee United, big teams in the Championship that should be up in the SPL.
"We'll see in the next few weeks or so how it pans out.”
With the end of this season now approaching, and Turner facing the very real possibility that he could be banned from playing in this year’s play-off final should Raith beat either Partick Thistle or Airdrie in the semi-finals and parent club County stay second bottom of the Premiership to set up a two-legged shootout, the player was asked how he sees his future panning out.
He added: "I don't have a clue what's going to happen. I fully expect to go back to Ross County in the summer as I've got another year there.
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Hide Ad"It's obviously up to the manager at Ross County to see if I'm in his plans. Right now I've not had any conversations about that because I've been focusing on Raith Rovers trying to get into the SPL.
"Obviously the manager at County's just come in and is really focusing on keeping them in the SPL so that conversation will probably take place at the end of the season.
"The ball is in Ross County's court. I liked my time at Ross County until certain things had happened, obviously with the change of manager and I didn't get the game time that I wanted.
"We'll see what happens at the end of the season and I'll have that discussion with the gaffer up there."
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