Ross County have four Premiership fixtures remaining – starting at home to Hearts – as they bid to avoid the relegation play-off for a third straight year.
The Staggies slipped into the dreaded 11th position at the weekend as they lost 2-0 at Kilmarnock after goals from Bruce Anderson and Liam Donnelly.
It means County have now lost their last five matches, which has taken them from being pre-split top-six contenders to firm relegation candidates.
Dundee’s 1-0 victory at Tynecastle saw the Taysiders leapfrog Hearts, who pulled the trigger and sacked manager Neil Critchley.
County are now three points adrift of Killie, two points behind Dundee, and six points in front of St Johnstone.
After tackling eighth-placed Hearts – who are five points ahead of them – County are away to St Johnstone then Dundee before a last-day date at home to Motherwell.
In 2023 and 2024, the Dingwall club required play-off final wins against Partick Thistle and Raith Rovers to maintain their top-flight status, but they are determined to rediscover form quickly to ensure they don’t face pressure-cooker clashes.
Ross County manager Don Cowie addressed the media at the club’s weekly press conference on Tuesday and we look at some of the main talking points.
On concerns over finishing 11th this season:
“We’re an honest group and I’m an honest person.
“We’re second bottom of the league and that’s not where we want to be.
“But we haven’t performed well enough over the last five games, within those games there have been aspects that I have enjoyed, but at this stage you have to produce a more complete performance to win matches.
“We have come up short, and now we go into four huge games.
“We have still got it in our hands. But, as I have said to the boys, we can’t say ‘we have four games’ or ‘we have three games’ left.
“The next one is the most important one and that’s this week.”
On taking their chance of grabbing the win sooner rather than later:
“No one will give us anything as everyone is fighting for their lives.
“Points are important and you must go and earn it. We have not managed to earn it over the last five games.
“Bits have been good and we’ve worked hard, but we need to play with less fear, given the position we’re in.
“We need to produce that Ross County spirit that we have produced year after year – now is the time to do it again.”
On low confidence:
“I was a player, and I know when you lose games of football over a period of time it can take an effect on you individually and collectively.
“I remind the players what they are capable of doing and show them what they have produced at times this season to get that confidence back up.
“That can change in one game, but we cannot keep waiting for that moment.
“We need to, individually and collectively, change that.”
On one win being capable of sparking a strong run:
“Football can change really quickly and that’s what gives you belief.
“We’re the same manager, group of staff, and players who five weeks ago were in a really healthy position after winning three games out of four.
“It can change quickly, in a positive manner.
“That’s what we look to do against Hearts this weekend.
On the fighting spirit shown when two late goals earned a 2-2 draw against Hearts in December:
“The spirit is the foundation of this football club.
“We need to tap into that going into this spell of four games.
“It has been a challenging period results-wise. We have to look to end that this weekend.
“There is no guarantee in football you will win the match. What we need to do is perform at a high level to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to win.”
On weekend team news:
“Scott Allardice is a disappointing one. He hasn’t started a lot, but we played him on Saturday and I thought he was probably our best player in the hour that he played.
“I’m disappointed for him that he had to come off with discomfort in his knee.
“We’ve had it scanned. There could be damage there that rules him out for the rest of the season, but he is not feeling that way.
“We’ll just see how it goes over the next few days in terms of how the injury settles down.
“The early diagnosis is that he could be out for the rest of the campaign.
“It could be that we get a second opinion.
“He has had a history of injury on the knee it has happened to so it could be that the scan showed up an older injury, rather than something that happened on Saturday.
“Scott doesn’t think it is that bad compared to what the scans is saying, so well take a bit of time to digest that and see how he progresses.
“Ross Laidlaw is ill and still not back in the building. He is a doubt for this weekend.
“Will Nightingale is back. He wasn’t available on the eve of the St Mirren game which has been a reflection of his stop-start season, really frustrating for him and us.
“But he is back training again.”
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