Ross County interim manager Don Cowie looking to go on the front foot in fight to avoid relegation as trip to Livingston kicks off Premiership run-in
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Don Cowie is confident that Ross County are ready to attack their last five matches of the Premiership season – a period that will decide whether they are playing Premiership football next season or not.
A trip to Livingston this Saturday kicks off the post-split fixture list, with the Staggies currently sitting in the relegation play-off place, one point behind St Johnstone.
Victory over Rangers last time out will give them plenty of confidence that the Perth Saints can be reeled in though, as long as County can hold up their end of the bargain.
Three points this weekend would not just go a long way to moving into at least 10th before the end of the campaign though, they would also mathematically relegate Livingston.
While it is unlikely that Livi will be able to catch County before the summer, it is not impossible as things stand.
Cowie, though, does not think removing any possibility of automatic relegation will have a major impact on his squad as they have set their sights higher up the standings.
“I said before the Rangers game, we had six games left and every game was equally as important,” he explained.
“This game on Saturday is the same. We’re confident going into the five games and now it is about really attacking them and doing everything we can to finish in the 10th place.
“I look around and see a group that is very comfortable with the situation. They can see the progress they are making as a group, so they should feel good about themselves.
“I said maybe four to six weeks ago that we wanted to be in a position, going into the split, where we were fighting to stay in this league. I see a team that’s doing that.
“Had we been four points behind going into the last five games, I would still have huge belief within this group that we could get out of the position we are in.
“We got the three points against Rangers – nobody can take that away from us – but we have to now build on it and take it into Livingston to make sure we do our best.”
Some Staggies supporters may harken back to last season, when County kicked off the split with a home victory over Livingston.
That was the first of back-to-back victories in the split that hauled the Dingwall outfit out of the automatic relegation place.
With an opportunity to string positive results together once again this weekend, Cowie is eager to take advantage – saying last season showed how quickly the situation can change with a run of victories.
“It’s not something we have done enough historically at this club, and it’s something we’ve got to try and rectify,” he added.
“Picking up back-to-back wins is huge in any league. It can give us real momentum going into the final four games if we can get the three points.
“Last year we proved how important it was when we got back-to-back victories. We beat Livingston and Dundee United, and we saw just what it could do to the bottom of the table.
“Everyone is playing each other, and if you can gain those points it can cause real carnage within that situation. That’s what we want to do.”
