Adams back at Ross County helm
Derek Adams is back at Ross County
DEREK Adams has completed a shock homecoming as Ross County manager on a three-year deal.
The First Division club reached an amicable agreement with employers Hibernian to terminate the 35-year-old’s Easter Road contract.
Adams resigned from his position in October last year just five months after guiding the Dingwall outfit to an historic Scottish Cup final appearance.
Victories against Hibs and Celtic took the club to unprecedented territory before they were finally defeated by Dundee United at Hampden Park.
In his first, three-year spell in charge – initially as Scottish football’s youngest manager – he also won a Second Division title, a Challenge Cup and re-established County as a First Division force.
But ambitions to coach at a higher level and frustration over County’s poor start to last season persuaded the former Aberdeen, Burnley, Ross County and Motherwell midfielder to seek pastures new.
After suitable offers to manage outright failed to materialise, Colin Calderwood made his move in mid-October with County enduring a rocky season.
Successor Willie McStay was sacked after only three months before County scraped to safety under Jimmy Calderwood who failed to impress the Dingwall board.
Chairman Roy MacGregor told the Ross-shire Journal that he had come to the conclusion that nobody understood Ross County better than the younger Adams.
MacGregor also insisted it was his decision alone to move for the former boss – and that director of football George Adams, Derek’s father, was actually against the plan.
MacGregor said, “They say ‘never go back’ but we’ve had difficulty in finding someone who understands Ross County.
“The Ross County model is different from other clubs.
“It’s about staying in the Highlands and not going up and down the road.
“It’s about understanding the people in the club and what the club is about.
“Looking round at where we might go, I came to the conclusion it had to be Derek.
“I knew Derek wasn’t completely happy at being a number two.
“His father had nothing to do with this – in fact, he didn’t want this to happen. But I did.”
MacGregor hopes the seven months away will have refreshed Adams junior and added extra experience to his armoury.
The chairman said, “I think the Hibs experience will have added something.
“I cautioned him about the move because I felt he was a leader who would find it hard to be a number two.
“He has found that out, but I think that’s a positive not a negative in that he’ll come back even more fixed on what he needs to do.
“He knows most of the players and knows what has got to come in to make us challenge at the top of the First Division.
“He’s been involved in some of that thinking already.
“It’s a good decision from both clubs and I want to thank Colin Calderwood and Rod Petrie for allowing it to happen.
“Derek was contracted to Hibs for longer but we were able to come to an amicable solution on that.”
MacGregor is vowing to back Adams in the transfer market as the club tries to recapture the heights of the season before last.
The chairman added, “Derek needs to add now some experienced players alongside the talented players we already have – and a few winners.
“We have to get the blend right.
“You would have thought it would be a really difficult decision for Derek because they do say you should never go back.
“Some people might try and suggest he didn’t make it at the next level.
“But none of that bothers him. He’s very single-minded. He wants to be a manager in his own right and if this is the place he can actually advance then so be it.
“He can come back in here and pick up where he left off, while also changing some of the things that weren’t quite right when he left.”
County had been linked with Arbroath boss Paul Sheerin, ex Celtic and Aberdeen midfielder Paul Hartley and even Rangers David Weir in the run-up to yesterday’s announcement.
But it is understood that MacGregor made the decision late last week and consulted Adams on signing targets including striker Colin McMenamin.
At the board meeting to discuss candidates, Adams senior declared an interest and left the room as directors contemplated a move for his son.
The new manager will now take time to consider who should be appointed as his assistant.
An early contender could be Kenny Gilbert, the former Ross County midfielder, who has remained close to Adams since their playing days at Victoria Park.
