Stand-alone boss Kettlewell eyes his best defence

BY GAVIN BERRY

HAVING shipped 60 goals last season it’s not difficult to work out the most pressing area of Ross County’s side that needed addressed this summer.

Unsurprisingly, that dire statistic meant the Staggies conceded more than any other side in the Premiership – eight more than relegated Hearts.

The Highlanders underwent a management team restructure with former co-manager Steven Ferguson, below, taking on an upstairs role.

That left Stuart Kettlewell as sole first-team boss with Richard Brittain stepping up to assistant and Don Cowie now first-team coach.

And between that quartet they would have been looking to find solutions to plug a leaky defence that sees them third favourites with most bookies to finish bottom.

Those odds are in keeping with their 10th-place position when the season was halted less than a week after they actually looked relatively solid at the back and went down to a single Ryan Kent goal 13 minutes from time at home to Rangers.

But over the course of the season they conceded too many and a stingier rearguard might have seen them challenging for a top-six place.

Kettlewell has started with the most important position at the back, with Celtic’s 22-year-old keeper Ross Doohan coming in on loan.

Defenders Alex Iacovitti, Connor Randall and Carl Tremarco were also recruited as ex-skipper Marcus Fraser rejected a new deal and later joined St Mirren, while Richard Foster departed Dingwall as well.

Iain Vigurs has taken over the armband and on that appointment, Kettlewell said: “Iain has played over 200 games for the club in two different spells and has honestly been one of the most talented players I’ve ever played with.”

But while Vigurs is a familiar face, there has been some interesting summer recruitment with the Staggies looking to strengthen in areas other than defence.

Regan Charles-Cook signed from Gillingham and midfielder Stephen Kelly, 20, is a loanee from the other half of the Old Firm.

On paper, it looks like good

HAVING spent six years in the Arsenal youth academy, it’s fair to say Regan Charles-Cook has had a good grounding in the game.

And Stuart Kettlewell spoke of his excitement at recruiting the energetic midfielder who they had looked at bringing in on loan during the January transfer window.

The Staggies landed the 23-year-old on a two-year deal after he left former club Gillingham and he is a player who has the potential to get County fans off their seats. business from Kettlewell – at 36 the youngest top-flight boss – whose reputation is on the rise.

A mid-season slump saw County record just two wins from 19 fixtures and there were real fears at that stage but he managed to steer them through.

And if conceding goals was a major problem then in Ross Stewart they had someone who was a real headache for opposition defences.

The former St Mirren man bagged 11 goals and that was despite missing most of the post-Christmas games through injury. It’s no surprise the 24-year-old hitman was linked with top-flight rivals but if they can hold on to him then Stewart will be a key player. In their first season in the top flight, back in 2012-13, County finished fifth under Derek Adams. Having also lifted the League Cup in 2016, it shows what can be achieved and in chairman Roy MacGregor they have a backer with the best interests of the club at heart.