They don’t welcome me back with open arms
With a pop star wife and being an ex-Rangers player, Ross County’s Richard Foster is used to jeers from the stands – but things crank up a notch every time he returns to first club Aberdeen...
RICHARD FOSTER knows, as sure as night follows day, boos will ring out in his direction at Pittodrie today from home supporters with long memories and short fuses. But the Ross County defender reckons turning those fans against their own team could be key to victory for Staggies. The 34-year-old right-back has long since developed a thick skin to the clamour that follows him to almost every ground in the country these days. Nowhere, though, is it louder than at Pittodrie where the Elgin-raised defender made his senior debut almost 17 years ago. Foster’s sin was to agree to a season-long loan move to Rangers back in 2010/11,
before rejoining the Ibrox club for two years after a spell with Bristol City.
Having a cool and sassy pop star wife in Amy Macdonald only seems to increase the spotlight on Foster, who admitted: “To be fair, these days it’s getting to be every single stadium I go to!
“Pittodrie is certainly one where they don’t welcome me back with open arms, shall we say.
“At Pittodrie though, a lot of it tends to be families and kids who are booing me with big smiles on their faces. It’s kind of light-hearted.
“The heavier stuff tends to come at the night games, with the away support, where they have maybe had a bit to drink.
“There’s a lot of booing and it usually lasts if I’m playing, for the full 90 minutes, which is quite surprising. You’ve got to commend them for their persistence!
“But that’s just what happens in football when you leave a club and come back with another team – especially after a couple of spells at Rangers. quickly “They but don’t it’s forget part of the that game so you need to deal with it – and I do. “I wouldn’t say I agree with it but it is what it is. When it is a collective support booing me on the ball, it doesn’t bother me that much. “It is more the personal
Pittodrie is one where they don’t welcome me back with open arms, shall we say
insults away from the pitch that I don’t like.”
However, Foster revels in the challenge of returning to his old haunt, rating Pittodrie as the toughest stadium in the country to play at after Celtic Park and Ibrox
Equally, though, he knows just how restless the Dons’ support can become when things fall flat.
He said: “I would say it is the most difficult fixture in the league, setting aside Rangers and Celtic.
“They’re usually quite strong at home. In recent years they’ve certainly had a good support at home.
“That’s the challenge we face but it is also one where, if you can go there and upset the apple cart and put them under a bit of early pressure, the fans can get a bit restless.
“It then changes from the fans being on our case to them being on their case.
“That’s something we will look to do.”
County received a huge shot in the arm last weekend after Billy Mckay fired home a late leveller to earn a 1-1 draw against St Johnstone.
The Europa League-chasing Dons earned their own boost in midweek, beating Kilmarnock 4-3 in extra time in the Scottish Cup.
Foster believes the natural comedown from midweek exertion and adrenaline can work in County’s favour if they approach the game the right way. He said: “You hope there’s a bit of a hangover. To win the way they did at Kilmarnock will be a massive high. Then you have the long trip back up to Aberdeen.
“They now have a game so soon after but they are professional athletes – they’ll be ready for this one.
“Aberdeen have a big enough squad that they can make changes if the manager chooses to.
“I know it is a cliche but we really need to focus on what we’re doing – try to upset Aberdeen and make it difficult for them.
“Then if the game isn’t going to plan for them, that is maybe when leggyness and tiredness comes in.
“But if we go and play like we did at Pittodrie in what was actually my first game back at Ross County, the 3-0 defeat at the end of August, then we’ll give Aberdeen a lift.
“We need to be dogged, defensively sound. We have a lot of players who can carry a threat going forward so we need to utilise that – and put Aberdeen under pressure.
“That’s when the midweek exertions set in.
“As the management have said, the St Johnstone draw is only a big point for us if we go and collect more points on the road now.
“I know the next few games are going to be tough but there are no easy matches in this league. We’ve prepared well and hopefully we’ll get a result.”