NAISMITH SURE FOX CAN HANDLE FIRHILL CRITICS

ROSS COUNTY blunder keeper Scott Fox is bracing himself for being goaded by gleeful Partick Thistle fans when his old club arrives in Dingwall on Saturday. But team-mates Jason Naismith insists it will be child’s play for the 30-year-old after the merciless ribbing he took after his recent high-profile howler against Rangers. Fox became an internet sensation last month when he dallied in possession of the ball and was robbed by Alfredo Morelos, who tucked the ball home during a 3-1 win for Pedro Caixinha’s side. Naismith has been teasing Fox about the error this week and expects Thistle fans to do likewise, given they are still smarting over the keeper quitting Firhill for Dingwall in 2015. But the defender insists the fact Fox’s partner is pregnant has given him some welcome perspective ahead of any cruel taunts from the Thistle support. ‘Scott is due to become a dad soon, so I’m sure he has bigger things to worry about,’ said Naismith. ‘Maybe if he did not have that on his plate, he would linger over his mistake a bit more. ‘I sit beside him in the dressing room and I have been making a couple of fly comments to him about it. ‘He has been mentioning to me that he is not too popular with Thistle fans anyway. ‘But after that mistake against Rangers, there were 3,000 giving him stick. If he can handle that, he will be fine.’ But Naismith insists nobody in the County dressing room is angry with Fox after his mistake. ‘It’s hard to give him stick because he has been fantastic for us generally,’ he said.

Jason Naismith was speaking at the Topps SPFL Match Attax 2017-18 Launch at Hampden yesterday.