Ross County defender Jason Naismith insists his goalkeeper Scott Fox will handle the Partick Thistle boo-boys who are certain to target him at Victoria Park on Saturday after his recent howler against Rangers.
Former Partick player Fox infamously allowed Alfredo Morelos to pinch the ball from him and score into an empty net as the Staggies lost 3-1.
But Naismith believes the goalkeeper is strong enough to bounce back from his error and prove again that he will be a vital player.
Fox left Partick for Dingwall two years ago, so he is always liable to be a target for the Jags sup- porters. But Naismith says he will handle it.
Naismith said: “He’s mentioned that he is not too popular with the Thistle supporters anyway, so I’m sure he will get it from them.
“After he made the mistake there were 3,000 Rangers supporters giving him stick.
“If he can handle that he will be fine. He’s made of strong stuff as he’s an Airdrie boy. He is due to become a dad soon, so I’m sure he has bigger things to worry about.
“If he never had that on his plate he’d linger over the mistake more.
“He’s been fantastic for us, so it is hard to give him stick. Although I sit beside him and have made a couple of fly comments.
“He has saved us so many points during the six months I have been at the club and I’m sure he will save us a few more in the future.”
Partick have yet to win a point this season but County failed to beat them in three attempts last term as the Glasgow side went on to pinch the Dingwall men’s top-six place.
Naismith added: “We’ve had a difficult start with both Aberdeen and Ran-gers at home and we should have maybe picked up something from those games.
“We have Partick at home this weekend and we need to pick up points.
“We couldn’t beat them last season.
“They were a different proposition last season the way they lined up.
“They went with a 3-5-2 and fell into five at the back at times and they went about eight games without conceding a goal whereas they used to play free-flowing with the full backs really high.
“It certainly worked well for them because they got into the top six.”