WHEN Stephen Kelly made the loan move from Rangers to Ross County last summer, he knew it was designed to test him and challenge him in different ways to ensure he was as prepared as possible for a potential Premiership campaign at Ibrox.

It has ticked every box in that regard for the midfielder. On and off the park, recent months have given Kelly new questions to answer as he grows personally and professionally.

Having impressed during a stint at Ayr United last term, the next step was always going to be one up for Kelly and the switch to the Staggies provided him with the opportunity to prove his worth in the top flight and enhance his reputation at Ibrox.

The first weeks of the campaign were to prove unfulfilling for the 20-year-old. As County struggled to assert themselves in the Premiership, he found his game time limited.

READ: Stephen Kelly confident Ross County have the quality to beat the Premiership drop this term

His patience has paid off, though, and he would start at Parkhead as County beat Celtic in the Betfred Cup and at Easter Road as Hibernian were beaten 2-0 and John Hughes won for the first time as boss.

“It has been good, but it was obviously frustrating at the start when I didn’t get as much game time,” Kelly told Herald and Times Sport as he reflected on a season that has seen him make 19 appearances for Ross County.

“Since I have come into the team I have managed to do as well as I can and got a number of starts as well. I have enjoyed it.

“It was obviously a bit difference. When I came up, I performed well in the training games and the friendlies and to not get into the team at the start was a bit of a surprise. I just had to deal with that and get on with it.

“I spoke to Kirky (Billy Kirkwood), who is the loans manager at Rangers, Ross (Wilson) and Gary McAllister and kept in contact with them. They were keeping in touch with me just to see what was happening.

“I have known Kirky since I first went in full time and he is always talking to me. Any problems I have, I normally speak to him.”

The support network that Kelly has back in Glasgow was crucial to helping him through a frustrating start to life in Highlands as he stuck to his task and his game.

The challenges that everyone in the country faces due to Covid restrictions and regulations can hit footballers as hard as anyone. Kelly would find himself cut off from friends and family during lockdown but is content away from football in his home from home.

He said: “At the start it was OK because things were still open but the last couple of months everything has shut down it has been a bit more difficult. Overall it has been fine.

“I was in with Ross Doohan and obviously he has gone back to Celtic and Regan Charles-Cook as well but he has moved out. I knew Ross from last year so I was good pals with him. It was a good laugh.

“It is probably something that I never really thought about. You hear about players taking time to settle in but I didn’t want to let that affect me and just focus on the training. I can understand how maybe it does affect players differently.

“When you are playing and it is going well then it is not as bad. At the start, I wasn’t really in the team and it was probably more difficult then.

“You are getting a bit frustrated and that is when you want to speak to your family or your pals. It has been a great experience.”

The biggest and most significant change of all in Kelly’s campaign came last month as Hughes was appointed as manager following the departure of Stuart Kettlewell. As County found the going increasingly difficult in the Premiership, there was a realisation that something had to give.

Kelly would go through the same process last season as Mark Kerr replaced Ian McCall at Somerset Park after his move to Partick Thistle and the Scotland youth international is determined to make the most of the learning opportunity.

“It has been good [working with the manager] and it is another manager for myself as well,” Kelly said. “I think that is four now over two loan spells. There have been loads of different ways of working and experiences for me so it has all been good.

“He is big on playing football but, where we are at in the season and the table, it is still baby steps to get us more solid in games to then give us a chance towards the end of games.

READ: John Hughes hopes Ross County learn lessons from Rangers masterclass

“Normally when a manager comes in everyone lifts themselves and their own standards so the training and performances have gone up a bit since the change.

“Normally before the games he will pull you aside and make sure you are doing the right things. He says don’t forget to play. That is his message to all the players.

“It is just a game of football, so go and express yourself, but make sure that you put the hard work in. He wants us to play football.”

Kelly would sit out the defeat to Rangers on Saturday as Steven Gerrard’s side ran out 5-0 winners at Ibrox to move another step closer to the Premiership title.

He will be back in the Staggies squad for the visit of Motherwell tomorrow evening and is encouraged with the way he has adapted to life in the top flight as he looks to ensure County remain a Premiership side ahead of his return to Rangers.

Kelly said: “It is obviously different [from what I have experienced before] and last year at Ayr we were a team that were at the top of the table so we were slightly more attacking.

“This season I have gone up a level but we have been on the back foot a lot. It has been different in that sense but in a lot of the games there is not much in them. It is just good to get up to the pace and then trying to build on that.

“For me personally, if I can show that I can play in the league and against the best teams – like playing against Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibs – that is good.

“But there are no easy games in this league so I think it is just about trying to find consistency and that will help me in the long run.”