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Analysis: Ben Purrington has attributes to thrive in central defence following Josh Reid’s return to Ross County

Reid has rejoined the Staggies, after Purrington and Harmon both impressed in their first season in Scottish football.

Josh Reid, George Harmon and Ben Purrington who will compete for a place in Ross County's side this season.
Ross County defenders Josh Reid, George Harmon and Ben Purrington. Image: SNS

Ross County’s addition of Josh Reid has added further depth to what was already a strong left side of the park.

Reid is back for a second spell in Dingwall, just over two years after earning a move to English Championship side Coventry City.

It followed a rapid breakthrough into the Staggies’ first team as a teenager in 2020, with Reid making 24 appearances before making the switch south the following January.

Reid has had precious little first team action in the time that has passed since, making his solitary outing for the Sky Blues in an EFL Cup tie in August 2021.

He was farmed out on loan to League Two side Stevenage last season, but made just one appearance.

Despite the lack of game time, the 21-year-old is sure to have taken big learnings from being involved at a club which narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season.

Josh Reid in action during his first spell with Ross County. Image: SNS

Reid will feel familiar surroundings can get the best out of him, after he completed a return to his hometown club on a three-year deal.

With Ben Purrington and George Harmon already established as left back options, it throws up an interesting dilemma for Staggies boss Malky Mackay.

Purrington’s return to action towards the tail end of last season had the effect of being like a new signing for Ross County.

The Englishman was sidelined for much of the Premiership campaign, after suffering ankle ligament damage in a match against Dundee United in October.

It had followed a bright start to his Staggies career, following his move from Charlton Athletic last summer.

He had started all 16 of County’s matches they had played in all competitions up until that point, indicating that Malky Mackay saw an important role for him in his side.

Ben Purrington. Image: SNS

The 27-year-old is an experienced campaigner, with nearly 250 career appearances to his name.

The bulk of those came in English football prior to his switch to County, with his three-and-a-half year spell at Charlton preceded by stints at AFC Wimbledon, Rotherham and Plymouth Argyle.

Following Purrington’s injury setback, the pathway was cleared for Harmon to enjoy a sustained run at left back.

Harmon was brought in as a less experienced option with the potential to develop, with the 22-year-old having been headhunted from English non-league side Oxford City.

Purrington suffered further setbacks in his recovery from injury, which meant Harmon went on to hold down the position for the bulk of his maiden season in Scotland.

Intense competition for place in Mackay’s line-up

Harmon went on to make a strong impact on Mackay’s side, most notably netting the equaliser and a subsequent penalty in the shoot-out victory over Partick Thistle in the decisive play-off.

Purrington returned as a substitute in the first leg against the Jags, before starting in the return fixture.

With Reid now also added to the mix, it begs the question of how Mackay will go about using the three players this term.

Purrington described himself as a “traditional” and “defensive” left back when he joined up with the Staggies’ pre-season training camp in Italy last summer.

He also expressed a willingness to engage in County’s attacking play and had been showing encouraging signs of that in the early stages of the season. Earlier on in the United game in which he suffered his injury, he provided an assist for a goal by Ross Callachan.

Purrington also showed up well in his defensive statistics in his time on the park. According to statistics from StatsBomb, he won 72% of the aerial duels, which was a higher percentage than any other County player during the season.

Ben Purrington in action for Ross County against Hibernian.

He ranked second highest in County’s squad for interceptions, averaging 2.18 per 90 minutes.

Since first getting his opportunity in the side in late October, Harmon has had a major effect on County’s attacking play.

In 30 league outings prior to the play-off matches, Harmon ended the campaign with 3.6 xG assists, which was more than any of his team mates.

He also produced 32 key passes which went on to create a chance, which was six behind Yan Dhanda at the top of the Staggies’ chart.

George Harmon celebrates Ross County’s play-off win against Partick Thistle. Image: SNS

Mackay’s back three could mean changed role for Purrington

In the way Mackay set his side out at the start of last season, Purrington and Harmon were competing with each other for one left back slot.

As the campaign progressed, Mackay began to increasingly favour playing a back three, which could open the door for both players to feature in his starting line-up.

Mackay is in need of centre-halves following the departure of Alex Iacovitti and skipper Keith Watson.

Alex Iacovitti celebrates scoring against Celtic. Image: SNS

The Staggies boss has indicated he could bring in defensive cover before County’s next Viaplay Cup match at home to Morton on Saturday.

Purrington, given his vast defensive experience, could prove to be a timely option in that area – having started in the position in County’s 5-1 win over Stranraer last weekend.

Following the friendly against Queen’s Park last Saturday, Mackay said: “He’s absolutely one of our main men.

“He has played over 200 games, he’s at ease on the left or inside as part of a three.

“We didn’t really have Ben last year at all, but at the end of the season we knew exactly what he was capable of, and he was excellent.”

Should Purrington hold down the position on a long-term basis, it would allow Harmon and Reid to compete for a wing-back position further upfield.

Reid offered a reminder of the attacking threat he poses in County’s opening pre-season friendly against Nairn County, when he set up Matthew Wright’s first goal in the 3-1 victory.

Mackay is relishing the competition Reid will provide Harmon for a spot in his team.

Following that match, Mackay said: “We certainly needed help in that left area. We’ve always had a good relationship with Coventry, going back to when Josh went down there.

Josh Reid (centre) provided the assist for  Matthew Wright’s opening goal against Nairn County. Image: Jasperimage.

“We saw that with Jack Burroughs coming up, and when Josh came up as an option I spoke to Steven Ferguson and Enda Barron about it.

“I spoke to Scot Gemmill because he’s obviously had Josh with Scotland Under-21s, and it was all positive.

“He has come in and settled straight back into it, so him and George will have a good fight for that spot as two good young men pushing each other hard.

“I thought Josh was excellent tonight. In the first half, his delivery for the goal was excellent.”

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