Cowie hopes for Spain trip boost

DON COWIE is hoping a “really valuable” spring trip to Spain has set Ross County on a course to secure their cinch Premiership survival.

With no game last weekend, the Staggies squad headed to Marbella last week for some warm-weather training and team bonding.

County are currently in 11th place and a win away to Livingston this afternoon will ensure they cannot finish bottom while also enhancing their chances of overtaking St Johnstone and climbing out of the playoff spot.

Manager Cowie believes the time they spent on the Costa del Sol can help them finish the season with a flourish after a rousing 3-2 win over title-chasing Rangers in their last fixture before the split.

“It was a trip that was planned a few weeks ago and it was good timing on the back of a really good three points against Rangers,” he said.

“It was about us getting together as a group and getting ready for five very important games. It allowed people to recharge, get some training and some downtime so it was really valuable for us.”

Ross County can officially relegate Livingston this Saturday if they win but Cowie expects the Lions to be full of fight as they try to prolong their seemingly doomed bid to remain in the top flight.

“I’ll be expecting a team that will be doing everything they can to get three points to stay in this division,” said Cowie.

“I don’t expect anything less. We’ve got to be prepared for that mentally but we’re just as desperate for the three points. We go there looking to be positive.

“I said before the Rangers game, we had six games left and each game was equally important. This game is exactly the same.”