Ross County entered the first international break of the season with two Premiership points from their opening four games.
There have been some encouraging signs from Don Cowie’s side, with the campaign starting with draws against Motherwell and Dundee United.
It is fair to say August also brought a couple of crushing blows, with the Staggies exiting the Premier Sports Cup at the hands of League Two Spartans, before suffering a 6-0 loss to Rangers at Hampden Park.
Saturday’s visit of Aberdeen was a big step back in the right direction, but a late Kevin Nisbet winner for the Dons left the Staggies empty-handed.
In our first Ross County fans’ panel of the season, Peter Mackay from the Staggies View and Ross Morren from the County Corner offer their thoughts on the campaign so far.
Following on from the group section of the Premier Sports Cup, how would you assess how the season has started since the Premiership opener at Motherwell?
Peter Mackay (Staggies View): Having yet to win a match in the league after such a strong League Cup group stage is disappointing. The draw against Motherwell was a fair opening day result, however I can’t help but feel like we wasted chances in the following match versus Dundee United.
Likewise, when Aberdeen visited Dingwall, a saved Ronan Hale penalty left a feeling of what could have been.
However, Don is probably viewing it as the opposite of me. We have only lost in the league to Rangers and Aberdeen who are both very strong, whilst larger teams Kilmarnock and Hearts are in fact having worse starts than the Staggies on just one point.
There is a long way to go, and even if we haven’t found that win yet, we’ve seen before under Malky Mackay that it can take time to click.
Ross Morren (County Corner): I think we’ve had a decent start to the season.
After a real bump in the road, with performances and results against Spartans and Rangers, the reaction the players showed against Aberdeen was really encouraging.
Kevin Nisbet’s later winner was a sucker punch, but the defensive solidity throughout the match was a huge improvement from the performance at Hampden the week prior.
At a quick glance, two points out of 12 might be a cause of concern for some fans.
However, if it wasn’t for a couple of penalty misses and the late Aberdeen winner, the Staggies could have quite easily picked up an extra 3-5 points from their two homes matches if they had a bit of luck on their side.
Don Cowie ended the transfer window with 12 new additions, with a few key players moving on through the summer. How would you summarise the window overall?
PM: It was always going to be incredibly difficult to replace the void left by Dundee-bound Simon Murray, but Ronan Hale genuinely feels like a good enough replacement.
Despite this, the area of concern for me is the lack of goals we have scored in league action. Netting just once in four matches is a slight concern.
I believe Yan Dhanda has left a bigger hole than Simon Murray. There has been a distinct lack of creativity throughout the side so far.
Noah Chilvers hasn’t necessarily hit the ground running or shown us what he can do in those advanced midfield areas yet, but hopefully, with game time, he will find his feet.
The signing of Josh Nisbet is a real statement, however. An Australian international and A-League player of the year entering our midfield should be a big boost going forward.
Overall our window has been decent, but we have hedged our bets by having absolutely no wingers in the squad – which has baffled me slightly.
RM: It would have been a tough task for any manager to try and replace their club captain, most creative outlet and top scorer.
The Staggies made some interesting signings with the likes of Akil Wright, Noah Chilvers, Josh Nisbet and Ronan Hale all impressing so far.
The loan market has also been very successful for County over recent years. Will Nightingale has returned to Dingwall on loan from AFC Wimbledon for another season while Aidan Denholm has provided a lot of energy to the County midfield.
Despite the 12 new additions, the departure of Josh Sims to Yeovil Town and Jay Henderson’s loan move to Ayr United mean there’s not a natural winger in the squad at the moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if the club are monitoring the free agent market to bring in a wide player in the forward areas.
Do you have a picture of what your favoured starting line-up would be yet, in terms of both personnel and shape? Or are there still a couple of positions up for grabs in your eyes?
PM: The sensible way forward is to continue with the five-at-the-back shape.
Despite a Barcelona-like 45 minutes against Dundee United using a back four with a box midfield, it has left us looking really weak in defence against Spartans and Rangers.
I think we could see a variation of both shapes Don has played so far, perhaps, with two midfielders playing behind a striker, rather than an out and out front two when using a back five.
However, in terms of personnel – there are several places still up for grabs. Most significantly, a second striker who will be the longer-term partner for Ronan Hale, as well as in attacking midfield.
RM: I think we’ll most likely see County line-up in three formations across the course of the season – 3-5-2, 4-2-2-2 or 5-4-1.
Against Aberdeen, the back three of Akil Wright, Kacper Lopata and Ryan Leak looked very solid. Don Cowie’s played a different backline in the majority of his matches so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets a settled backline over the next few matches.
In midfield, club captain Connor Randall provides plenty of protection to the County defence. Scott Allardice is a favourite of the County fans and would add more strength and power to the County midfield.
That defensive protection should allow the likes of Josh Nisbet, Noah Chilvers and Aidan Denholm have the freedom to try and create opportunities at the top end of the park.
In my opinion, the best striker partnership at the club is Jordan White and Ronan Hale.
White has scored some huge goals during his time in Dingwall and brings a physical threat that defences struggle to cope with. Hale looks like he has something special about him, he looks sharp and confident that he can score from anywhere on the park.
Following the international break, County return to a home double header against Dundee and St Johnstone, before ending the month away to Hearts. What would you say is a realistic September points haul to aim for?
PM: Home form under Don has been strong, and we should aim to keep that up.
I expect Dundee to provide a stern test, as will Hearts at Tynecastle despite a poor start. Four points should be the aim.
A win over St Johnstone could be key in the grand scheme of things, and some folk might even label that as an early six-pointer.
A point on top of a win against Saints would be a positive month, however, I wouldn’t be too disheartened if three points was the haul.
RM: Dundee have had an impressive start to the season and provide a real attacking threat but look a bit suspect defensively at times. The Staggies managed to kick start their 2021/22 season with an important win against Dundee, could history repeat itself?
The St Johnstone match already feels like a big one. Most County fans will see that match as the most winnable of the September fixtures.
If Don Cowie’s side can pick up two positive results in those two fixtures, they’ll travel to face Hearts at Tynecastle with absolutely nothing to fear.
The Gorgie side have had a poor start to the season and with pressure starting to build on Steven Naismith, County might be able to take advantage of a Hearts side low on confidence and take a positive result back up the A9.
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