On-form Spittal keen for County to play on
THEY say a change is as good as a rest – and Blair Spittal really wants a change in fortune.
The ex-Dundee United and Partick Thistle midfielder can see the Premiership winter break far enough after kicking his heels on the Ross County fringes since October.
On Boxing Day he earned a first start since the 6-0 battering by Celtic in Glasgow 10 weeks before.
While County lost 2-1 to Motherwell after a 10-man collapse, Spittal served up a reminder of what he is capable of by netting the opening goal with his head.
Just as he reasserts his starting credentials, the final pre-break match away to St Johnstone is on tomorrow.
Spittal said: “Now I’ve got my opportunity I hope I can take it but it’s been a frustrating couple of months not playing.
“I felt a bit sloppy at the start of the game against Motherwell, giving away a few balls I probably shouldn’t have given away.
“But once I got into the
BY ALASDAIR FRASER game I did pretty well – and I got my goal. Hopefully I’ve given the managers a bit of a headache now.”
The fact he scored the second-half leveller in a 2-2 draw with Saints in Dingwall last October could just earn Spittal the nod.
He said: “We’ve played St Johnstone already in the league and they were very good on the day.
“A draw was probably a fair result but we can’t look into that too much. It’s going to be a tough game and a battle.
“We’ve just got to make sure we’re ready for that.
“It would be the worst feeling ever to go into the break off the back of a few poor results.
“We’ve just got to make sure we’re positive going into this game.
“We need to take the performance we put in on Thursday and make sure we get the right result. It’s an important game against a team that’s round about us.
“We would rather that the games come thick and fast than having to wait a full week for it. That’s the way we’ve got to look at it.
“Sunday is a perfect opportunity for us. It’s been a mixed start to the season but we can end the year on a high.”
County looked far better against Motherwell than in a 4-0 beating at Livingston five days before.
But after leading for over half an hour, the red card for Lewis Spence set them on the back foot before Ross MacIver and Declan Gallagher netted for the Fir Park side.
And Spittal added: “It was disappointing but we can’t dwell on it.
“We’ve got an important game coming up to try to end the first half of the season on a high.
“We put in a good performance on Boxing Day, even after going down to 10 men.
“But Motherwell hemmed us in and we couldn’t really get out. Fair play to them as they stuck to it.
“They got a corner with the last kick of the ball and we couldn’t defend it. But we have got to move on – it’s done now.”