Ross County forward Dominic Samuel able to advise new arrivals in Dingwall from England that Premiership football in Scotland is more of a fight than they will be used to south of the border
Dominic Samuel says his first year in Scottish football has taught him the game is more of a fight north of the border than it is in England.
Football in both nations is noted for its physicality, but that perhaps manifests in different ways – with a higher pace and intensity in England, but more aggressive challenges in Scotland.
It takes some adjustment for players moving north from the English leagues like Samuel did last summer, but now that the 28-year-old is embarking on his second campaign at Ross County he says he has learned to embrace the combativeness of Scottish football.
“Compared to down south, it’s definitely more of a fight up here,” he said.
“As soon as you get the first 20 minutes of a game out of the way and you get the ball down, I think we can carve most of these teams open.
“You’ve just got to win your battles and the second balls.
“Up here it’s like they just want to rip your shirt off, whereas down south it’s more about trying to win the ball back.
“That’s football, you can’t pick and choose what sort of battle you want, it comes with the package so you’ve got to learn to adapt to it, deal with it and take it from there.”
Having already spent 12 months with the Staggies, Samuel is well-placed to give advice to this summer’s influx of signings from England.
Malky Mackay has added eight more players to his squad from down south, and the likes of Samuel can help them make the adjustment.
“I said to them that it’s not going to be pretty,” Samuel explained.
“Don’t think it’s going to be a game where you can get on the ball, get on the half turn and play it at your own pace – it will never be that sort of game in Scotland.
“It’s going to be tough in the first 25 minutes, and after that is when you can get the ball down and play.
“The new boys are getting better, and once the team does eventually click I think we’ll be fine.”
