Josh Nisbet spent some of the international break getting expert striker tips – now the Ross County midfielder is setting his sights on hitting the net against Motherwell.
The Australian midfielder, who joined the Staggies on a three-year contract this summer from Central Coast Mariners, had short trips to London and Rome with his brief break from the cut and thrust of the Scottish Premiership.
However, before that, he dedicated time to looking at where he needs to improve as he seeks to get on the scoresheet for the first time for ninth-placed County.
Nisbet collected some tips from specialist striker coach Scott Chickelday, who has helped England star Ollie Watkins and Liverpool’s Harvey Elliot.
Chickelday has been an academy coach at Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers. He also coached at English side Billericay Women and Orlando Pirates in South Africa. His stock is high and attracting attention from top pros.
When asked about that experience, Nisbet said: “He’s worked with some top athletes, and if I’m getting that level of coaching, I hope it will help me.
“That experience, and his tips and advice, will hopefully really help my game, and hopefully I can go and implement that.
“We were really working on my finishing and the trajectory of my shots, so hopefully it will help me score.”
Nisbet is determined to ‘kick on’
The Dingwall side have failed to score in their last three games and go into the weekend on the back of a 3-0 defeat at Dundee United.
Nisbet reflected on where he feels he needs to improve. He said: “I still feel like I can dictate the game a bit better.
“Sometimes it’s almost like the game goes by me every now and then, and I want to get more goals and assists.
“We haven’t been doing too well in front of goal recently, and we haven’t been creating enough, so I feel like if I can keep my game at a decent level but add goals and assists, I can really kick on.”
Hard work needed to hit peak levels
Nisbet, who wasn’t selected for the Australia national team during the latest international break, explained why work came first this time before he enjoyed a short relaxing period.
He said: “I went to London for a bit of football, and then I went to Rome to switch off for a few days.
“At first, I did a few extras, then I relaxed to get ready for this week.
“If you want to reach the highest level you can, I feel like you’ve got to make sure you’re putting in extra work.
“I don’t really see it as extra work, because it’s all about improving.
“I want to get as high as I can in football, so putting in the extra work will definitely help.”
Collective need to score more goals
Nisbet says there needs to be a collective effort in order to improve their ninth-placing standing in the Premiership.
He added: “We haven’t scored in the last three games, and that’s nobody’s fault but our own – and within that, not a single person but everyone.
“It’s definitely a focus of ours right now, and we will do whatever we can to make sure we get chances.”
Aussie rivals reunited in Dingwall
Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash with Motherwell, there will be one familiar face in the ranks for Nisbet.
He said: “Motherwell have got good players, and the Aussie striker (Apostolos Stamatelopoulos) who is back fit now – it will be good to see him.
“Back in Australia he was at my rival club, so we spoke a few times.
“We just call him AP. He’s a really good guy and it will be good to see him.
“Motherwell have done well this season, but not too many teams have done well coming up to us, so that’s what we want to continue.
“It would be great to get more points away, but it’s so important to get points when you’re at home.”
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