Ross County goalkeeper Gary Woods wants to end emotional week on a high
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GARY Woods has gone through his fair share of emotions over the past fortnight.
Sadness for his team-mate Scott Fox at suffering a serious injury, anticipation of playing in a cup final and joy at becoming a father for the second time. If you were going to use the rollercoaster of emotions cliché, Woods would be first on that ride.
There is little time to process all of that when the biggest game of your career is lurking just around the corner. There is a chance to make himself a hero, not just to his team-mates, manager and supporters, but to his family too.
“For me, it’s been an emotional week to bring Aurora into the world. Hopefully my eldest, Aurelia, will be watching with her mum and her family and hopefully we can win it for them,” said on-loan goalkeeper Woods.
“I’ve not had too many sleepless nights. She’s been sleeping and my partner Pia has been getting up, so it’s not been too bad for me. She was born last Thursday so it’s been a good week, bar the Dundee United game.”
The fact he is preparing for a League Cup final would probably have come as a surprise to the 25-year-old a fortnight ago, given that Scott Fox was arguably in the form of his career.
Fox had been imperious in County’s semi-final victory over Celtic, stopping Leigh Griffiths’ spot kick, and been a huge part of their drive into the league’s top six. His medial ligament injury was a blow not just to him but the club as well.
The goalkeepers’ union is probably one of the most clandestine organisations around: it never meets, there are no membership fees yet there are thousands of members and there are no coded rules, the only stipulation that you don the gloves every weekend. As a member of the Highland branch, Woods has nothing by sympathy for his colleague.
“As a goalkeeper you know there’s only one position. Strangely enough, me and Foxy get on really well so it’s quite difficult. I get to play in the big games so it’s good on a personal level, but I’m devastated for Scott and I would never wish an injury upon him,” he said. “Sometimes football is cruel and we’ve all been on the receiving end of it. Unfortunately for him he’ll miss these next few games.
“You’ve got to be positive. Part of the reason Scott got back in was that a couple of the goals against St Johnstone were my fault, so I’ve let him in. The gaffer had a decision to make, which is fine. As a goalkeeper you just have to wait your opportunity. Hopefully I can take it and we can win as many games as possible.”
Again, like his club captain Andrew Davies, opportunity to scout Sunday’s opposition has been nullified by the extension of his paternal duties.
Two faces in the Hibernian camp are familiar to him though, with Marvin Bartley and Chris Dagnall former Leyton Orient players that have shared a dressing room at Brisbane Road with the former Manchester United youngster.
When he arrived at County at the beginning of September the message from manager Jim McIntyre was simple – he wanted competition for places all over the park. True to his word, McIntyre has given Woods his chance and backed him unconditionally during both of Fox’s spells on the sidelines.
Once the dust dies down on what is hopefully a successful yet hectic period, Woods would be happy to use those assurances as the foundation of his future at the club.
“If a permanent move is on the cards it’ll definitely be something I’ll look at. The family enjoy it here and the gaffer has been brilliant to me,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see out the next few weeks, achieve what we want to achieve and then sit down and have a discussion.
“The gaffer said he wanted competition for places. Scott was playing well when I came, then I got in and he got back in again. It’s about keeping your performance levels up and I don’t see why I can’t play as many games as possible.
”With the ticket-sales total brushing towards the 10,000 mark, Woods has backed the County fans to make Hampden Park a fortress, despite being outnumbered by their counterparts from Leith.
A career pinnacle awaits for Woods and it presents an opportunity to cement the Staggies as a prominent force in Scottish football.
“It’s the biggest single game I’ve played in. It’s tough sometimes – down the road if you’re in the cup, you’ve got to beat the likes of Man City and Man United. Up here we’re the big team,” he said.
“I’m not saying it’s easy to get into a final because it isn’t. But now we’re in one hopefully we can win it.”
