Ross County defender Will Nightingale says sleepless nights in the wake of Sunday’s game against Aberdeen give him added incentive ahead of the Premiership play-off.
Defender Nightingale missed a fine opportunity to secure the final day victory County needed to clinch automatic survival, when he headed off the post in stoppage time.
Moments earlier, Nightingale had seen a long-range effort deflected off the crossbar in a frantic end to the 2-2 draw.
Nightingale, who is on loan from AFC Wimbledon, has constantly relived the moment in his head in recent days.
He says it has made him all the more determined to help County navigate their way through the double header against Raith Rovers, starting with tonight’s first leg at Stark’s Park.
Nightingale said: “I had that chance in my head and I have replayed that header in my mind a thousand times.
“I struggled to sleep, thinking about why didn’t I put it in a corner, go across the goal or get a better contact? It is frustrating.
“I know Kelle Roos because he was at Wimbledon with me on loan from Derby County. I had him done, but the post had other things to say.
“For whatever reason it wasn’t meant to be our day.
“I have kicked myself in the foot so many times for not being the hero at the time. I now have a great opportunity to put that right and that is what I am looking to do.”
Defender eager to repay Staggies following enjoyable loan stint
Nightingale has been an impressive performer since joining last summer, in the 28-year-old’s first move away from the Dons.
He has made 26 appearances for the Staggies despite an injury disrupted campaign, recently returning from a three-month absence due to a hamstring issue.
Having thoroughly enjoyed his loan spell, Nightingale is eager to repay the Dingwall club by securing their Premiership status.
He added: “It is all I am thinking about and all I have been thinking about for the last few weeks.
“It takes over your life and you get so invested because there are so many good people at this club.
“I will be doing all I can because I am desperate for the club to stay in the Scottish Premiership.
“I think we deserve it as well because there have been times where we have been hard done by, other times we have shot ourselves in the foot and there have been so many different things.
“We are good enough to stay in the league.
“It is one thing to say, it is another thing to do it. We can use countless cliches but my full focus is on this tie.”
Previous experience with Dons to draw upon
Nightingale enjoyed play-off success eight years ago when he helped Wimbledon secure promotion to League One at Wembley.
The Englishman says the subsequent achievement at maintaining their place at that level – including a vital final-day goalless draw against Bradford City in 2019 – meant just as much.
Nightingale added: “I was part of the squad who got promoted into League One in 2016.
“That was against Plymouth, where Derek Adams was at the time. I never mentioned that to him when he turned up.
“We were punching above our weight in League One. We had seven or eight years in the league with the smallest budget in the league, competing with Sunderland, Plymouth, Bolton and Portsmouth.
“These teams were Premier League and Championship clubs in stature.
“We survived year on year when we weren’t expected to.
“One year it went to the last game of the season where we couldn’t lose against Bradford away – they are a big club. The celebrations then were better than when we got promoted.
“I can take my own experiences and use them. It just takes away the nerves if you have been in similar situations.
“Any nerves have to be turned into excitement for the game.
“We have to bring our best. We know we can get the job done and we are looking forward to it.”
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