Former Ross County midfielder Richie Hart says being less reliant on the loan market can set the Dingwall club up for a better season in next season’s Premiership.
The signings so far this summer, both midfielder captures from the Championship, have been on permanent two-year contracts, with Scott Allardice joining from Inverness and Kyle Turner from Partick Thistle.
And on Monday, County brought former defender Josh Reid back from Coventry City on a three-year deal.
In the January window, the deadline day move for Queen’s Park striker Simon Murray also saw the hot-shot move north on a fixed contract.
😎 A bit of what new signing Kyle Turner can offer!@kyleturner628
🎥 @EwanWaddellTV pic.twitter.com/MG1VPWi5ax
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) June 23, 2023
Over the course of last season, manager Malky Mackay brought seven players in on loan, starting with wide man Owura Edwards from Bristol City, followed by Southampton winger Kazeem Olaigbe and Sheffield United goalkeeper Jake Eastwood.
In 2023, there were loan deals to add Hibs midfielder Nohan Kenneh, St Mirren forward Eamonn Brophy and striker Josh Stones and winger Gwion Edwards from Wigan Athletic.
Play-off final drama kept County up
It was a tough term for County, which ended is dramatic relief as they stayed up via the play-off final by pulling off a stunning late three-goal revival then penalty shoot-out success to sink Partick Thistle.
Indifferent form had taken the Staggies to the foot of the table following a 6-1 defeat at Hearts in April, but they dug themselves into 11th spot before their great escape against Thistle.
It was a far cry from the previous campaign where, fired by the 20 combined goals from Regan Charles-Cook and Joseph Hungbo, the Staggies finished sixth in the top-flight.
Hart, who is a former Ross County TV pundit, likes the look of the signings brought in so far by Mackay.
He said: “I think Malky will have learned more from last season than the previous year. Although it was a very good season when Ross County finished sixth, a lot of the teams, such as Aberdeen, Hibs, Dundee United performed well below par. Aberdeen and Hibs improved last season and St Mirren made the top six.
Contracts offer stability for County
“County, over the past few years, have been reliant on loan players and last year they lost Regan Charles-Cook and Joseph Hungbo, who were huge players. You take them out of any team, they’d be difficult to replace.
“With Scott Allardice and Kyle Turner coming in, Malky is trying to get a more settled squad. At the start of the year, they also took in Simon Murray.
“They are creating more stability with some young hungry players that can hopefully have a more settled team to work with.
“Logistically, it can be difficult for Ross County to attract players up to the Highlands, as beautiful a place as it is to work and live, so they are looking at other opportunities.
“Dipping into the loan market is good if it is for one or two players, but if you’re relying on more than that, it becomes more difficult, especially when you’re in a tough situation in the league. Regardless of what happens, loan players will be returning to their (parent) clubs.
“You can see what they’re trying to do, get players settled into contracts of two years or so. These guys are hungry for that opportunity to play in the Premiership. With the facilities at County, it’s all there for them to succeed.
“Don’t get me wrong. It will be another tough season. It’s a difficult league to stay in and it’s a hard job to keep a league there and then progress them up the league.”
Hart hails fighting spirit at County
Hart, who helped make County’s midfield tick in 2008-09, hailed the Staggies’ fighting class for always giving themselves a chance even when matches were going against them.
He said: “It was a tough season. They were four points adrift at the bottom of the table before the split, so they would have taken the play-off position at that time. They did incredibly well to haul themselves back up the table.
“The play-off final was two very interesting games, to say the least. Partick will be very frustrated they didn’t take more of an advantage back up to Dingwall after winning 2-0 at Firhill in the first leg.
“Ross County have shown they are more than capable of overturning that kind of deficit. They came back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 against St Johnstone late in the season, for example, in a game which ended 3-3.
“When Partick scored up here to make it 3-0 on aggregate, even I felt there was no way back. As I say though, they’ve shown in the past two seasons when they’re behind they can spark into life.
“The players deserve a huge amount of credit for turning it around. It would have been a disaster for them to drop back to the Championship. The fight was always within the squad.”
👕 Introducing our 23/24 Home Kit.
The kit honours our history and links to the Seaforth Highlanders and helps us to maintain the link between our past, present and future.
On sale online and in-store at 12PM. pic.twitter.com/XPofbmm41B
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) June 5, 2023
Staggies must start season strongly
And Hart reckons banking some early league points will give County a chance of avoiding a similar survival battle going into 2024.
He added: “Clubs usually invest when they have bad seasons – you can see Hibs and Aberdeen have invested to improve and County are operating at a whole different level.
“It was hugely important for County to remain in the Premiership. Just look at Dundee United (who were relegated).
“Everybody, I’m sure, expected United to turn their form around and stay up, given the quality of their squad and the money they’ve spent. However, they’ve taken the step back.
“Of course, you now have Dundee who have gone up as the Championship winners, with a new manager (Tony Docherty) in place this summer and they’ve been recruiting.
“It’s going to be difficult and the key for Ross County is they must try and get off to a better start this season than they have in recent years.”