Staggies ‘on a hiding to nothing’ in cup clash with colts

Co-manager Steven Ferguson insists Ross County have it all to lose in today’s Irn-Bru Cup quarter-final tie against Motherwell Colts.

County take on Well’s under-21s side at Fir Park, with the Dingwall men aiming to book their place in February’s semi-finals.

The Staggies have already defeated Hearts Colts, Raith Rovers and Montrose to reach the last eight, however Ferguson is wary of a young Steelmen outfit who have created history by becoming the first colts team to reach this stage since they were introduced to the competition in 2016.

Ferguson said: “We know enough about them, certainly with Stuart Kettlewell’s background in the Development League.

“We know Motherwell have been producing good, young players for a number of years now. Stephen Craigan has done a fantastic job.

“The proof of that is the amount of kids they have managed to feed into the first team.

“He deserves a lot of credit for that, and so do Motherwell.

“We understand it is a potential bananaskin and we’re on a bit of a hiding to nothing as a team from the Championship playing a colts team.

“If we underestimate it in any way, there is the potential to get our fingers burned.

“We’re crystal clear on the fact we need to go about this in the right manner.”

County are likely to freshen up their side for the trip to Lanarkshire, with Ferguson adding: “It has flown under the radar a little bit regarding the injuries we’ve had in the first part of the season.

“They’ve all been relatively serious.

“If you took Michael Gardyne, Liam Fontaine, Callum Morris and Marcus Fraser out of any starting eleven in this league, then it is difficult.”