Bachmann targets County's number one jersey after loan move
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
DANIEL Bachmann hopes learning from four international goalkeepers can give him the edge in the battle for Ross County’s number one jersey.
The on-loan Stoke City stopper counts Asmir Begovic (Bosnia), Thomas Sorensen (Denmark) and Jack Butland (England) as former team-mates at the Britannia Stadium, while he spent a brief period with Republic of Ireland legend Shay Given this pre-season.
Manager Jim McIntyre is embracing the direct competition between the two for the starting spot between the posts, which Bachmann, who joined on a six-month loan deal on Saturday, said is the main reason he is in Dingwall.
An Austrian under-21 international, Bachmann was preparing to travel on a pre-season trip to France with the Potters first team on Friday, when he got the call to go to County. Twenty-four hours later, he had made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to NEC Nijmegen.
With a place in the starting 11 at Parkhead at stake tomorrow, the 21-year-old is hoping he already has the edge over club compatriot Fox.
"Last year I was with Tom (Sorensen), Asmir (Begovic) and Jack (Butland). The first two are very experienced goalkeepers and it’s been very good to train with them day in, day out. You learn so much from them," he said.
"All of us learn from each other and everyone gives something back. With Asmir signing for Chelsea, he hasn’t done much wrong! It’s been very good. In pre-season this year we had Shay Given coming in, who’s got great experience throughout his career.
"I’m not here to sit on the bench — I’m here to play. There’s competition between me and Foxy and I’m looking to start."
Bachmann’s arrival, on a six-month deal, concludes McIntyre’s search for goalkeeping competition, which had seen a frustrating pursuit of St Mirren’s Mark Ridgers called off and ex-Reading youngster Jonathan Henly not offered a contract.
The physical qualities of Bachmann are not in doubt and the Staggies boss has a selection dilemma ahead of the trip to Parkhead.
"He’s big, has major height, and loves to come for crosses. He likes to dominate his area. We’ve been very impressed with what we’ve seen so far," said McIntyre. "But, we’ve been equally impressed with Scott Fox. Sometimes it’s very difficult to get two goalkeepers fighting it our for the same spot, but we feel as if we’ve got that."
New County signing Jackson Irvine, who made his switch from Celtic permanent earlier this week, will need to prove his fitness ahead of the game against his former side. Full-back Jamie Reckord, however, will miss out with a foot injury sustained in pre-season.
