Ross County’s fate is in their own hands in ‘most open bottom six ever’ insists manager Don Cowie ahead of first post-split match at Kilmarnock
Don Cowie believes the Scottish Premiership’s bottom six is as open as it has ever been after the split, with 11 points separating all six teams ahead of the final five matches.
The Staggies sit in the middle of that group, ahead of Dundee and St Johnstone but behind Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Hearts.
Depending on how results play out over the coming weeks, they could still feasibly finish bottom of the pile – or as high as seventh.
With league action returning from this weekend, the table could look very different after each and every round of games, but Cowie says it is up to his squad to stand up to the pressure that every side in the bottom half will come under.
“It's a reflection of the league throughout the season really,” Cowie said.
“The margins are so tight, had we beaten St Mirren then all of a sudden they are in a situation where they're in a dogfight with five other teams in the bottom half of the table.
“It is very fine margins and I'm sure it's going to go right to the wire just because of the competitiveness of it, how tight it is and what's at stake.
“Every team will just be focusing on themselves. Hearts and Motherwell are the two that are furthest away from it, but come this weekend if results go a certain way then it makes it even tighter.
“We've got it in our own hands to decide where we want to go. You could finish 7th, you could finish 12th, that's how tight it is.
“It's about what you want to try and achieve. You put a run of results together in these next five games and it could be a really healthy end to the season.
“If you don't then you've got a fight on your hands. I think everyone recognises that, there's no hiding away from it. Then it boils down to us as a group standing up to what's coming.”
County’s post-split schedule caused some consternation among the club’s fanbase.
Despite already having had two away games against three of their bottom six rivals, the Staggies were given only two home matches and three away days in the run-in.
Cowie, though, was always expecting it to work out that way given that in the first 33 matches, County had played 17 in Dingwall and 16 on the road.
“I don't think we were ever going to get three home matches,” he reasoned.
“When we went into the split after our game against St Mirren, I think we all recognised that we would probably have to go to St Johnstone, Hearts or Motherwell for the third time.
“That was just the way it was going to work out. It just so happens that St Johnstone is the game that we have to go to again for the third time.
“We've just got to deal with it. It's part of it. I believe Motherwell have got 18 home games and 20 away, so they've definitely fallen the wrong side of the fixture list.
“It's just trying to make the best of a bad situation for the league in terms of getting it as even as they can.”