Kettlewell wary of Saints threat despite their lowly position
ROSS COUNTY co-manager Stuart Kettlewell is not expecting an easy ride when basement club St Johnstone visit Dingwall today.
The Saints have mustered just three points and have yet to keep a clean sheet in their seven Premiership games. Meanwhile, the Staggies have been in exceptional form since the last international break, picking up seven points from their three league games in September to move up to fifth.
But Kettlewell is wary of the threat St Johnstone pose as they go in search of a first league win of the season.
“It’s going to be really tough,” he said. “You’re going up against a side that are desperately looking for their first win in the league. You look through their squad and they’ve obviously got players back in who have been injured for a long period of time. And they’ve got guys who can hurt you if you’re not switched on.
“Everything that we’ve done in the last three weeks has been from a solid foundation – a good defensive set-up, and we always look a threat when we get into the final third of the pitch as well. It’s going to have to be all those factors again for us.”
Saints suffered another blow yesterday with the news that Liam Gordon will be out for about eight weeks after a scan revealed the extent of a knee injury suffered on the training ground during the week.
Manager Tommy Wright said: “It is unfortunate, Liam seems to pick up injuries at bad times for him, when he is getting settled and doing well and when there were signs that the partnership with Jason [Kerr] is getting better and better.
“So that is disappointing for him but as always, someone else is going to benefit from that. Madis [Vihmann] or Wallace [Duffy] will come in and I am sure either of them will do well.
On today’s game, Wright said: “It is massive for us. We wouldn’t and didn’t envisage sitting after seven games still searching for the first win.
“It is important to stop this run of defeats and draws and get the first three points for a win on the board.”