Ross County manager Malky Mackay is confident his summer signings have the potential to excite and entertain supporters in the Scottish Premiership this season.
The Staggies’ class of 2021/22, brought together from scratch by then new-boss Mackay, found their feet and took the Highlanders to a sixth-placed finish.
Ten new arrivals have more than made up for those who have moved on and are determined add to the four points on board so far.
A last-gasp 1-1 draw earned against Aberdeen on Saturday followed a recent 1-0 home victory over Kilmarnock.
In league and cup, County have faced a challenging start to say the least, with trips to Tynecastle, Ibrox, two home tussles with Celtic and the weekend encounter against the Dons.
The latest of Mackay’s recruits, William Akio, stepped off the bench for only his second appearance following a knee injury to salvage a point against Aberdeen just a few minutes after they fell behind to a fabulous goal from Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes.
New players making early impacts
The County manager has been impressed by the attacking intent from the signings this year as they set out to make a name for themselves and try to replicate the success story of last season for the club.
He said: “The new players have come in and really thrown their hats in the ring.
“They are giving everything they have got every single day in training and I’m bringing them on for a reason.
“They are coming on and they are going at opponents. I want them to get bums off seats, the way the guys did last year and they are trying.
“You can see that, with the pace they have, the likes of Kazeem Olaigbe, William Akio and Owura Edwards.
“There were times, near the end last weekend, when we were peppering balls into the Aberdeen box. On another day, one of those would go in.”
Same strong spirit as last season
The way County never accepted a late goal conceded would mean defeat was another pleasing factor for Mackay.
He said: “We have new players at the club, but that same spirit remains from last year.
“We always kept going last year right until the last minute to get a win or a draw. We’ve still got that never-say-die attitude about us.
“Both teams put a number of subs on and changed formations at various times. We put pace on to try and counter and stretch and they threw strength on, so both of us had a really good go at it.
“We didn’t lose heart with the late goal which went against us and we got our just rewards. Neither team deserved to lose it.”
Rivals cancelled one another out
Mackay reckons the weekend draw with the Dons panned out like the games last year, as County extended their unbeaten run against the Reds to five fixtures.
He added: “Between the two boxes, both teams cancelled one another out. And, in both boxes, we lacked a little bit of quality to test either goalkeeper.
“It was a bit like a couple of the games we’ve had against Aberdeen since I’ve been at the club, with it being another really tight affair.”
Attention is now fully on County taking on in-form Motherwell, who seem re-energised since Steven Hammell recently became their boss.
Not only have they set up a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against holders Celtic, their league form has taken them on to 10 points, level with Aberdeen and Hearts, who are third and fourth respectively.
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