Woods admits County have had poor season

AS local rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle bemoaned their own lack of fight, Ross County could have basked in the new-found glory of having achieved something approaching supremacy in derby encounters. Instead there was a shared sense that there has been an under-performance in the Highlands this season.

“We’ll openly admit that as a team we’ve let everybody down this season,” said midfielder Martin Woods, following the 4-0 win in Dingwall which completed an unbeaten sequence in derby matches this campaign that has seen them take 10 of the 12 points available.

“I think personally we should be pushing for fourth with the players we’ve got. You see when we play the right way, we feel as if we should be pushing a lot higher up the table. So we need to finish as best as we can and put it right.

“I feel as if we’ve got to go and cement this seventh place which is not good enough for us if we’re being honest, but we’ve got to go and do it now. That was a good start, so we’ve got to carry that forward and grasp that seventh place and at least finish the season really well.”

He readily acknowledged, however, that there was one shining exception in the performances of Liam Boyce, whose four-goal haul on Friday was described by manager Jim McIntyre as a fine tribute to the striker’s uncle who had died last week, and took his derby tally to a remarkable nine across a season he kick-started for his club with a hat-trick against Inverness in August.

“Boycey’s been superb all season,” said Woods. “He’s a really good boy and I’m delighted for him. The last couple of years he’s been absolutely brilliant and the goals he’s scored I’m just delighted for him.

Woods reckons his team-mate’s all-round game is such that the 26-year-old Irishman may soon be on the move.

“Everybody’s got to be looking at him, the goals he’s scored the last couple of years. It’s not just that, it’s the way he brings people into play and he’s just an all-round player,” he said. “I love playing with him. He’s a great worker, so we’ll be doing well to keep a hold of him. If I was putting my head on the line I think we might struggle to keep him.”