High Stakes Situation Ahead of Premiership Split
The final game before the Premiership splits is set to be a crucial one for Ross County as they travel to St Mirren in Paisley this weekend. The Staggies, managed by Don Cowie, are currently just one point clear of the relegation play-off zone after a single victory in their last five matches.
According to reports from the Ross-shire Journal, Cowie does not expect St Mirren to go all out attack in their must-win match for the Buddies’ top six hopes. As stated in the publication, "I think St Mirren have got a really consistent style of play, in terms of their shape and their identity as a football team," Cowie reasoned. "I don’t think that will change to begin with. In their last home game they had an outstanding result against Kilmarnock, so they’ll have real belief from that."
St Mirren also have a lot riding on the fixture, needing to win to keep their chances of finishing in the top half alive, while hoping that Hearts and Motherwell draw when they face off against each other at Fir Park. Despite what is at stake, though, Cowie is not expecting opposite number Stephen Robinson to make any drastic changes to how St Mirren have been playing throughout the campaign to date.
The Ross-shire Journal also reports that Cowie believes St Mirren’s style of play will only change if the score or other results dictate it. As quoted in the publication, "I’m sure as the game goes on, we’ll start to sense within the stadium what the other result is that affects St Mirren. That might then mean that they have to change their tactics or go a bit more aggressive in terms of winning a game of football, depending on what the result is at that time."
Although recent results have made it impossible for County to finish in the top half, the league table remains incredibly congested. Going into the final pre-split match, just four points separate Hearts in sixth from Dundee in 11th, meaning whoever ends up in the bottom half will be in a battle to avoid relegation.
Cowie, then, is hoping that his players see the upcoming matches as an opportunity to secure their top-flight future, rather than feeling pressurised by the prospect of a third consecutive relegation play-off. As reported by the Ross-shire Journal, Cowie added, "They’re very consistent in the way that they go about their business, and we’re now coming into a period of time where it’s really important. Like we’ve spoken previously, the experienced players need to use their experience and the knowledge that they’ve got from previous scenarios, and being in this situation with six games to go."
Ross County will be without long-term injury concerns Ryan Leak and Noah Chilvers for this weekend’s trip to St Mirren, while Andrew Macleod is on the sidelines for a shorter spell and Alex Samuel is a doubt. The Ross-shire Journal will continue to provide updates on the team’s situation as the season progresses.
The stakes are high, and Cowie knows that the next six games will be crucial in securing the team’s top-flight future. As quoted in the Ross-shire Journal, "We know what St Mirren are chasing this week, but we also know if we get three points, we go level with them. That is just another reflection of how tight this league is. There are going to be lots of twists and turns, I’m sure, once the bottom six comes and we know what the fixtures are and results start to happen. We’ve just got to be ready for that – we need to embrace it. We’ve worked hard to get to this point and we’ve got to work even harder now for this next six games.”
