Stakes high for Staggies in 'six-pointer' scrap with the Steelmen
JIM McIntyre admitted the stakes are high as Ross County tackle relegation rivals Motherwell at Fir Park today (Saturday).
The Staggies’ manager didn’t play down the significance of the crunch “six-pointer”, with Saturday’s hosts one of three teams currently anchored immediately in and around the dreaded drop-zone.
As the Ross-shire Journal went to press, the Steelmen were preparing to appoint a successor to Stuart McCall, who resigned last month after a poor start to the campaign.
Former Inverness CT and Hibs manager Terry Butcher had reportedly ruled himself out of the running to return to Fir Park, just as ex-County manager Derek Adams did earlier.
But whether the North Lanarkshire club – two points above the Dingwall team – do appoint a new boss before the game, McIntyre holds current caretaker Kenny Black in high enough esteem to know Motherwell will be well prepared.
McIntyre said: “Obviously, Motherwell have had a difficult start to the season. Sometimes when you get on a run like that without momentum it can become difficult.
“They’ve had a fabulous couple of seasons. I was as shocked as anybody when Stuart McCall left. He did a great job.
“It has been a difficult situation for their players. When a club is in a little bit of limbo, it’s not easy.
“But we had them watched last week and the week before and they did well in spells of the game. They showed they are a threat.
“I felt the game up here last time was very close and I expect it to be similar down there.
“Kenny Black is someone I know really well – an ex-team-mate who was my captain at Airdrie.
“He’s a fantastic football man and knows the game inside out. He’s covered every role within the game, being a player, captain, coach and manager, as well as working in the Scotland international set-up.
“He played for big clubs too, so he’s a man with a wealth of experience – and one of football’s good guys.
“And regardless of whether Kenny or someone else gets the job, they’ve still got the same players – and they’ve got good players.
“It has not happened for them this season so far but confidence is a wonderful thing, as we well know.
“They’ve also lost key players as well, including a couple to injury, and it’s hard to keep replacing them.
“Put those things together and sometimes you can end up not having the start you want.
“We’ve just got to look after ourselves. We’ve got to go there and start the game well and make sure we’re on the front foot.
“We need to concentrate on what we do well and make sure we take the game to Motherwell.”
Motherwell’s current nosedive is emphasised by recent results, having lost eight of their last nine matches.
Like County, they have managed just three wins all season but one of those was a 2-1 triumph in Dingwall on September 13. Iain Vigurs and John Sutton both struck wonder goals, with County replying late on through Liam Boyce.
McIntyre acknowledged: “It was two great strikes to beat us last time, so it’s game on. The three clubs at the bottom all need to put runs together.
“We’ve just got to take it one at a time, draw on the positives of what we’ve done well and make sure we defend situations better.”
Boyce is suspended after his red card against Dundee United, while County will be without long-term casualties Darren Barr, Rocco Quinn and Ben Frempah.
Martin Woods interview: Inside this week's Ross-shire Journal.