Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson reckons the Staggies have the best goalkeeper in the Championship in Scott Fox.
Former Partick Thistle goalkeeper Fox has been part of a County rearguard that boasts the best defensive record in the league, with only three goals conceded so far.
Fox was man of the match in Saturday’s 0-0 Highland derby draw against Caley Thistle, and Ferguson feels the 31-year-old is a key asset to the Dingwall side.
Ferguson said: “We believe we have the best goalkeeper in the league. In the way he goers about his business, there’s never a song and dance from Scott. He is always on point regarding how he keeps goal.
“We needed him on a couple of occasions on Saturday, but that’s his role in our team. He knows there will be lots of games where he has a lot less to do, but Saturday was a day we needed a good goalkeeper, and thankfully we have one in Scott.”
Ferguson and fellow co-manager Stuart Kettlewell had tough selections to make in Saturday’s derby, most notably the demotion of former Caley Jags midfielder Iain Vigurs to the bench.
Ferguson felt Vigurs had the desired effect as an impact substitute, adding: “It is not easy to pick an 11 with the players we have. But the players recognise the team and football club is bigger than any individual.
“We knew Iain would play some part in the game and when he came on I thought he was excellent. It suited Iain because the game was opening up with gaps to be penetrated.
“If anyone is going to find that it will be Iain.We had it in our head all along that, if we were going through the gears in the second half, we could add an injection from the likes of Iain, Josh Mullin or Declan McManus.
“To be fair, I think we did. The missing part was the goal.”
County have been without skipper Marcus Fraser since he suffered a calf problem in the 3-2 Betfred Cup loss to Hibernian on August 19, and Ferguson confirmed the defender is still struggling to shake the injury off.
He added: “It’s a funny one with Marcus. He has been in and out a little bit, every time we think we’ve just about got him he has a little setback.
“We will continue to monitor that and hopefully Marcus will be back soon enough.”