ROSS COUNTY

LAST SEASON PREMIERSHIP 10th SCOTTISH CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Quarter- Finals TOP SCORER Oli Shaw ( 8)

F A n F I L E ALAN ROSS @ Jailender

Last season was a case of disaster narrowly avoided. Only a final flourish in the last three matches prevented us from being relegated. Having to change a manager mid- season is never ideal... but to replace the replacement as soon as it’s over as well? Not a good look. The big talking point among the

fans is the arrival of manager Malky Mackay. With his tarnished past, his appointment hasn’t been well received by large sections of the support. Ultimately, he’ll be judged on his results.

I won’t be happy unless we have a good cup run. We quite often trip up in games we should win. Our most underrated player is

Harry Paton [ above]. Last season he was only a bit- part player, but always excited with his energy and drive. This will be a big year for him.

Look out for Matthew Wright [ below], a young forward getting rave reviews in the youth teams.

The opposition player I secretly admire is St Mirren attacker Jamie Mcgrath. Every time I see him, he’s the guy who makes things happen.

The pantomime villain will be

Mackay. easy target His for past away will make supporters, him an and Hopefully some he of the gets home the last fans laugh. too. The best thing about matchday at County is the tasty pies! The food is well priced and excellent quality: from traditional mince or steak, to the more unique macaroni, curry or haggis neeps and tatties pies. The ground I’m most looking forward to visiting is Tynecastle – always a good day out and great view despite being behind a goal. And if we can sneak a win, then the instant implosion from the home fans is always entertaining... Other clubs’ fans don’t know that we’re not the UK’S most northerly senior football ground – that’s Elgin City’s Borough Briggs, by three miles.

Our key player will be midfielder Ross Callachan, who recently joined from Hamilton and shone last term.

We’ll finish in the bottom six again, but hopefully towards its top half. 12TH FFT VERDICT

It’s hard to predict how County will fare, but at the time of writing they have the smallest squad in the Premiership and only just avoided the play- offs last term. New manager Malky Mackay will need support to add some quality, or doom awaits.