"My career has not worked out the way I would have liked it to after I left Hearts," said Ritchie.
"I did well in my time at Tynecastle and was part of the Scotland international set-up.
"But, over the last two-and-a-half years, my career has come to a standstill.
"That is something I'm looking to rectify as soon as possible.
"The way the game is going now, it is just a case of trying to get back to playing at a good level."