County can be inspired by famous victories

BY ALASDAIR FRASER IT was the night the Jail End roared and Hibs were sent crashing out of the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

First Division Ross County thundered past the Edinburgh club in a dramatic Wednesday night replay triumph in front of a raucous Victoria Park crowd.

One of Scotland’s most notoriously serene stadiums, the venue under the lights often takes on a life of its own.

Stuart Kettlewell, County’s co-manager, was part of the Derek Adams team that humbled Hibs in 2010 and Dingwall was crackling again as recently as last month when the Staggies grasped vital points with a 4-0 battering of Partick Thistle.

Now just one slip away from relegation what would Kettlewell and co-boss Steven Ferguson give for a repeat tonight?

Kettlewell said: “Dundee are a good side who play a slightly different way from what we’ve generally been seeing in this relegation dogfight.

“We’ve seen this scrappy element of games but this is one we prepare for slightly differently, without giving too much away. We can’t be certain what they’ll do tomorrow but we’ll be prepared for all aspects.

“The most important part is what we do in front of our home supporters who were absolutely magnificent on Friday.

“It is such a difficult thing to do, ask them to turn up early on a Saturday at Hamilton and then away in Glasgow for a Friday evening kick-off.

“But they turned up in their numbers and don’t half give you a backing. The passion for their team is incredible.

“We have this special element of a Tuesday night under the floodlights. In the last 10 or so years I’ve been involved at the club there always seems to be that extra buzz about it. I’ve got so many good memories of it as a player.

“That doesn’t give us a God-given right to win the game in that manner but it’s something we want to draw on.

“I remember big results on these evenings. Hibs in the Scottish Cup replay when we went on to reach the Final.

“That’s something myself and Steven experienced and drew on over the years. For the current squad why not go and write the next chapter?

“This could all be blue-sky thinking but I genuinely feel this could be the next chapter – one we look back on and say, ‘Remember that night’.”