We’ll be horrible to Gers and kick ‘em when they’re down
Josh Mullin reckons Ross County have been too NICE to the Old Firm.
But the Staggies ace insists they’re now ready to be horrible for Rangers and Celtic to play against.
In five games against the Glasgow clubs this season they’ve shipped 19 goals and scored just one in reply.
But in their two most recent defeats the Dingwall club have been a far more difficult proposition for Rangers and Celtic.
On their visit to Parkhead two months ago they created enough chances to win – but paid the price for not taking them and lost 3- 0.
Mullin is convinced that if they’re more ruthless against the big two they can get a positive result, starting with Rangers’ trip to the Highlands today.
Last time they faced Steven Gerrard’s men at home they stood off a Ryan Jack- inspired Gers who cruised to a 4- 0 victory.
The County midfielder insists that won’t happen again as they attempt to get in their opponents’ faces.
He said: “We need to be horrible against these teams.
“We want to be compact, not make it easy for them and put chances away when we get them.
“We feel we can get at Rangers. There might be a bit of vulnerability about them just now.
“If you speak to Rangers fans they probably sense it as well.
“Their performance in Europe against Braga was outstanding but obviously they went out and lost to Hearts and Hamilton in the games after that.
“So they’re there to be got at. That’s what we’ll try to do.
“In that last game against them in Dingwall, Jack dictated from midfield. We can’t let that happen again.
“But it was down to us as well – we were a bit naive and too nice. We all knew it
afterwards, in terms of how we conceded goals.
“So we’ll try to be positive. We won’t sit back, like we did in the first game.
“Our mindset will be about having a go. We need to be more horrible against them.
“No one expects us to take anything against Rangers or Celtic. Of course we realise where we are as a club – it’s a massive difference to the Old Firm.
“But it’s 90 minutes of football and when we’re on it we know we can compete with the top teams.”
When County carved open Celtic’s defence at Parkhead back in January, only to squander gi l t - edged chances, Mullin was at the heart of their good play.
Their defeat that day, with second-half sub Odsonne Edouard proving to be a game changer, still rankles with Stuart Kettlewell and Stevie Ferguson’s squad.
And they’re determined not to feel the same way after Rangers’ visit to Dingwall this afternoon.
After beating Livingston and Aberdeen in recent weeks the Staggies will go into the game with confidence and Mullin said: “We can’t afford to miss chances against Rangers.
“They’ve hit a bit of a dip but are still a top-class team.
“At Parkhead a few weeks back, we had loads of chances. We should have been a couple of goals up in the first half but we weren’t.
“We have to be ruthless if that happens against Gers.
“We’ve always tried to look up the table instead of worrying about what’s below us. There’s a bit of distance there now and when you pick up points, like we’ve done recently, it’s a relief.
“But it’s not a shock to us because we felt we deserved those points.
“Now we need to try to keep it going.”