Football Season Guide

Ross County avoided relegation last season only via the playoff, overcoming Raith Rovers in the final to secure Premiership survival in that manner for the second successive campaign. It was a scrappy season from the Staggies, who changed manager on a couple of occasions but eventually found a solid figure in Don Cowie to guide them to safety. Cowie has been installed in the job permanently, but while they successfully negotiated the League Cup group stages with four wins from four matches, there are serious questions over their ability to survive in the Premiership. Much of the concern over County comes in attack after losing key figure Simon Murray, who left to Dundee for personal reasons. It is not just Murray’s 23 goals that County will miss – nearly three times more than anyone else in their squad last term – it is his overall impact for the team in terms of leadership and work rate. Furthermore, their key playmaker in Yan Dhanda has departed for Hearts, with County failing to get a fee for him. Neither player has been obviously replaced, with much expected of Ronan Hale, who did net twice against Stirling in the League Cup. He has been prolific in Northern Ireland, but this is a step up. Adding to this is the departure of captain Jack Baldwin, though at least experience has arrived in the form of Ricki Lamie in this area. The defence, though, was a point of concern for County last season and does not appear to have been significantly enhanced, with just one clean sheet kept in four matches against lower-league opponents in the League Cup campaign. In midfield, meanwhile, Aidan Denholm has been picked up on loan from Hearts. He looked strong when given the chance with the Jambos last season and is an interesting arrival, while Charlie Telfer will be the man expected to fashion scoring chances, albeit he is not in the same league as Dhanda in terms of the quality he will bring to the team.