Ross County interim boss Don Cowie excited to pit himself against Rangers manager Philippe Clement
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Ross County interim manager Don Cowie says he is looking forward to testing himself against one of the top managers in the league yet again in the form of Rangers boss Philippe Clement.
The 50-year-old Belgian followed a somewhat similar path to first team management as Cowie.
Initially starting out as coach of the under-21s side at Club Brugge – where Clement made over 300 appearances as a player – he would then step up to be the first team’s assistant manager in 2012 and further his apprenticeship under three different managers over the next five years.
At that point Clement felt the time was right to become his own man, spending time as a number one at Waasland-Beveren, Genk and Brugge in his home country before a spell in France with Monaco, and moving to Scotland.
While Cowie is at the beginning of his journey into management, he will look across the dug-out in Dingwall on Sunday at a manager who has won league titles and domestic cups across Europe.
That is something that could be intimidating, but instead Cowie is looking forward to the challenge of going up against one of the best in the country.
“It’s exciting, because it’s something that I’ve made no secret I want to do on a regular basis,” Cowie explained.
“This is the top level for football in our country, and you want to put yourself up against the best.
“We’ve certainly got one of the best coming on Sunday. Since Philippe has come in he has done a tremendous job.
“Until you come and sit in this chair, you don’t know how you’re going to feel.
“So far I feel comfortable around the players and I’ve had a really good reaction from them. The application and effort from them has been excellent, so I can’t ask any more in that sense.
“Having been an assistant manager and coach at this club, I had built up a very good relationship with the group of players that we have, which meant that when I came into this role the trust was already there.
“The players understand me as someone who is very open and approachable. That hasn’t changed by being a manager, you just have to adapt slightly.
“Now I have to be the person that leaves players out of squads, and those decisions and conversations are ones that I’ve never had before. It’s just about getting used to those big decisions that you have to make.”
The unlucky player to miss out on County’s squad last weekend for the trip to Kilmarnock was Jay Henderson, who is yet to start a league match for the club since signing from St Mirren last summer.
Cowie praised the 22-year-old’s application in training, saying Henderson must be patient and his time will come.
“It was just the personnel I went with, and these are the decisions you have to make as a manager,” Cowie said of his selection last weekend.
“Jay comes back into the thinking for a home game this week, and he is very much part of the squad.
“It’s been a real challenge for Jay. He had an injury around about October, and he was out for a few months.
“He’s in the Premiership, and he’s at a club where there are lots of options – especially in the area he plays in the pitch. We’ve got three very good strikers, and we’ve got Yan Dhanda and Josh Sims that he’s competing against.
“It’s just about Jay making sure that he gets above them, and to do that you have to perform at a very high level.
“These players have played at this level for a long time, and it’s not through a lack of effort that Jay is missing out because he’s a great boy about the place who trains really well.
“It’s just about him dedicating to that, and he will get his reward eventually.”
