I’m delighted to say that Ross County’s season is over. Not because I haven’t enjoyed it, but because it means that we have avoided the grim spectre of the play-offs. Second season syndrome hit Ross County hard this year – with our sophomore campaign in Scotland’s top flight being far less euphoric than the one before. However, when our aim as a football club is just to stay there with the big boys, I think we can be happy and proud of what our small-town team has achieved yet again.
After two unbelievable seasons on the trot: seeing ourselves promoted to (what was) the SPL and then making it to 5th place in the league, it is perhaps understandable that things didn’t quite go as well this year as last. Apart from qualifying for Europe there was no real way of improving.
Our start to the season was poor this year, and was hampered with Derek Adams’ signings last summer being nowhere near as effective as the club and the fans hoped. Our foray into the Dutch leagues left us with only one true squad player in Melvin De Leeuw. Kevin Luckassen, after a disappointing spell in the team, was sold to Slovan Liberec in January while Marc Klok and Darren Maatsen have made little impact on the first team since their arrival. Hopefully they can improve and challenge for positions, as they are young players with plenty of potential that can only be realised with time on the pitch. With little in the way of strong signings, and a few key players leaving us last summer, it took us some time to find a starting 11 that was worthy of the competition.
Sadly this was coupled with some very questionable tactics being handed down from the manager, with our team playing some of our worst football for some time despite having players that are more than capable of better. The fast, fluid passing style that has been the key to our achievements under Adams has been tossed aside again in favour of a more direct and ultimately unsuccessful approach. We did lose two of our best passing players in the summer when Iain Vigurs and Paul Lawson left for Motherwell, but there’s no reason why our replacements couldn’t step in and do the same. Richard Brittain, after a difficult summer, hasn’t quite been the player he once was but has certainly not been helped by Adams’ decision to play him on the right of the pitch when he is a natural central midfielder. For starters he lacks the pace to attack the wing with any real conviction, but also Brittain tends to sucked in to the middle of the park on both offence and defence, leaving our attacks one-sided and one-dimensional and our right-back exposed. It’s little wonder that Mihael Kovacevic didn’t appear as steadfast in his first few months this season when his workload was essentially doubled.
For the first few months of the season Adams had us playing a 4-5-1, which resulted in our main game plan being to win the ball and hoof it up the park to either Kevin Luckassen or Orhan Mustafi up front – with neither really being able to cope with the pressure of going up against four defenders on their own. Our defence wasn’t even solid enough to justify this tactic, shipping goals for fun in the first few games because we played such a high line. Our usual rock-solid centre back pairing of Scott Boyd and Grant Munro were obviously not in tune with Adams’ new tack, and so the trademark of the goals scored against us in the opening games of the campaign was of our defenders running back towards goal with their hands in the air pleading in vain for an offside decision. Although Munro left the club and was replaced by Brian MacLean, our defensive frailties have cost us dear in some games this season.
Adams finally relented and played two up front in the New Years’ Day clash against Caley Thistle, and we won. January saw us playing our best football of the season, and it was thanks to the pairing of Jordan Slew and Yoann Arquin that we managed that. We fell away from there a bit, with Adams experimenting a little again, but we still played better football in the last few months than we did in August and September. We started scoring goals again and getting draws rather than defeats. That’s what kept us up in the end.
Entering the bottom six competition, I wasn’t totally confident in County avoiding the relegation play-off spot. We had, and still do at the end of the season, the worst record against bottom six sides of anyone in the league and the fixtures dealt to us were tough on paper. But all credit to Derek Adams and the players for showing the grit and determination to get through. Our wins against Killie and Hibs might not have been the prettiest or most convincing, but we did exactly what we needed to in two crucial games at Victoria Park. Richard Brittain’s penalty in the winner-stays-up clash against Hibs showed why he’s our captain, with a finish as cool as ice in what was perhaps the greatest pressure our team had faced in years. Another season in the Premiership is more than deserved in the end for our efforts in the last few months.
Away from the league, I’m afraid that our efforts in the cup competitions this season were very poor, with the unhealthy statistic of not winning a cup game in over 2 years being rather hard to swallow after our major successes only a few seasons ago. Being dumped out of the Scottish Cup at home to Terry Butcher’s Hibs, our first ever defeat to them, in a lacklustre game where they were a man down for the last 20 minutes was bad enough but can’t compare to our humbling against Stranraer in the League Cup. There we lost 3-2 against a League One side who were sitting in 8th position and whose home support amounted to just over 200 fans. We even took the lead through a Richie Brittain penalty but couldn’t hold on. Yet again Ross County have failed in the cup competitions, whilst our rivals from over the bridge had arguably their finest ever season in both cups. A good cup run would be appreciated next year, as it gives a certain sort of excitement that league football just can’t match.
Although it has to be said that this season was largely negative in terms of results, when you look at what Ross County have achieved in relative terms, 7th place in the Premiership is still a fantastic achievement from everyone at the club. With the smallest fan base in the league and a humble budget, it’s nothing short of magical that we have not only reached the promised land of the Premiership in the first place but held our own yet and beaten teams such as Hibs, Kilmarnock and Hearts again. After next season we will certainly be classed as an established side in the division, something that I would have passed off as a pipe dream just a few years ago. This year hasn’t quite been as straightforward and glamorously successful but neither I, the club or any of the fans would trade it for anything.
My player of the season this year is Melvin De Leeuw. Arriving in the summer as part of a Dutch quartet, he was the only one of the four to stamp his mark on the team. He’s been a real shining light for County, with 9 league goals making him our top scorer, and his assists from the wing making him probably our most valuable player. With another year on his contract, at least, I hope that De Leeuw sticks with us for a while longer and hopefully helps us to further success.
Looking ahead, it’s clear that the squad is once again going to be overhauled again for the start of the next campaign. We’re going to lose our many loan signings: Yann Songo’o, Erik Cikos, Michael Tidser and Jordan Slew – and all have put in good performances for the County jersey especially during their first months at the club so that’s an issue. Filip Kiss will return to Cardiff at the end of the season, although he hasn’t ruled out a return. Kiss and Cikos will be especially big misses, leaving gaps in the team that will be hard to fill. We’re still unsure over the future of Evangelos Ikonomou, who may or may not choose to stay with County for next season and would be a big blow to lose again. Hopefully the manager will have a big enough budget to buy in a few quality players. Yoann Arquin looks good up front, but without anyone to play in and around him with Jordan Slew gone we might to look for another option. We’ve never really replaced Iain Vigurs in terms of getting a player who can get to the bye-line and put in crosses or dart into the box, so hopefully we’ll see another winger at the club to team up with De Leeuw and give us a strong attacking threat again.
Derek Adams’ future with the club seemed uncertain a few weeks ago, with the threat of relegation looming and rumours circulating about his second spell as Ross County manager coming to an end. After Saturday’s match at Partick, though, he announced that he plans to stay at the club. With our 7th placed finish, I would be surprised if Roy McGregor sacked Adams, and likely his father George along with him, but I can’t help but feel it might be time for a change soon. Derek Adams is without a doubt the best manager we have ever had, and I would never diminish the fantastic achievements he has accomplished with us, but I fear that there is little room for Adams to improve the side with his recent approach to tactics and signings. I want what’s best for Ross County, and will heartily support Adams if he stays in charge, but I can’t help but feel that we need a fresh new look at the club and that Derek Adams might not be the man to bring that.
What this summer and next season will bring, I have absolutely no idea. I’m just hoping that County can succeed again in staying in the Premiership. A cup run or another stint in the top six would definitely be brilliant, but I think I’d happily settle for safety again. And maybe just finish above that team from Inverness. That wouldn’t be too bad for a wee team such us at all.