KETTLEWELL EYES COUNTY’S BEST VERSION

STUART KETTLEWELL wants to ensure Ross County supporters are eager to get up off their sofas and switch off the TV on Monday night — for all the right reasons. The Staggies kick off closed-doors action against Motherwell live on Sky, with season-ticket holders facing the unfamiliar prospect of having the campaign’s curtain-raiser beamed into their homes. Kettlewell, however, is determined none of them will grow too comfortable in those familiar surroundings. He feels County have a duty to perform and entertain — and make sure the fans are desperate to swap settees for plastic stadium seats. ‘We’ve had the League Cup sections in recent years to find our match sharpness, but that’s not to be this season,’ said Kettlewell. ‘We’ve had to find another way. ‘If it comes to Monday night and we’re off it for a period of the game, we won’t use the excuse of not having had enough games. ‘We are in an industry now where we are all just desperate to get games on. ‘We have to bring our best version out. ‘It’s up to us to motivate the players and for them to motivate themselves after going so long without competitive football. ‘We have fans digging into their pockets to watch the game with virtual season tickets, so it’s all on us to perform. ‘It’s about encouraging the supporters to come back here to our ground when they are allowed. ‘We need to whet their appetites so that, when they’re allowed to enter grounds again, they’re right back behind us.’ Kettlewell does not accept the premise that near-empty stadiums create low-key performances. ‘I still think that fan pressure is there and I’m heaping it on myself,’ continued the County boss (left). ‘I’ll impress upon my own players that we need to get out there and please our own fans. ‘They need to be happy with what they see and we need to capture everyone’s imagination. ‘It’s up to the 12 teams in this league to do that in these tough times when people are forking out good money to watch online or on Sky. ‘I feel we have a duty to entertain and provide a spectacle.’