As a trio, they have accomplished some of the biggest feats in Ross County’s history.
Getting to the 2010 Scottish Cup final, orchestrating a 40-game unbeaten run en-route to the Championship title in 2012, seeing off Hibs 1-0 four years ago to ensure County’s Premiership status.
In Richard Brittain, Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson, you would struggle to find three men who have taken the club as close to their heart.
After a galvanising interim period, Kettlewell and Ferguson were confirmed as permanent co-managers this week, as well as overseeing a new structure that puts them in charge of the entire football operation at the Global Energy Stadium.
As part of that reshuffle, Brittain was confirmed as reserve team manager, as well as continuing to assist the managerial duo with the first-team. Their experience of the club’s highs and lows hopefully prepares them for another vital chapter in County’s history.
Brittain said: “We had a few relegation scraps, none moreso than when we played Hibs. I was fortunate to score the penalty that day. Next season we got out of it when we seemed dead and buried under Jim McIntyre and hopefully that experience will help us.
“It’s all down to the boys in the starting 11 and on the substitutes bench to go out and put in a performance. It’s all fine and well having that experience of relegation battles but it’s about how well the guys cope on the day.
“It’s interesting how things work out. Myself and Stuart spoke about it as players, whether we wanted to go down the route of being managers and the answer was ‘absolutely’. We’re both that way inclined – we live and breathe football. We’ve played for the club for a long time and all fall in the same bracket; we’ve played over 700 games and know what it means to everyone.
“It’s a unique structure but it’s an exciting time for the club. To have two guys in charge at the top end of the club who have been there for a number of years will stand us in good stead for the future.
“There’s no more bigger believer in Stuart than myself – I’ve seen first-hand that he is a winner. He knows how to get results and get the best out of players. We’ve been through a lot together and he will certainly relish the opportunity.”
Ferguson has held pretty much every title within the Dingwall club since joining in 2010. From football development officer, first-team coach, head of youth and academy director; the 40-year-old made over 170 appearances in a royal blue shirt.
His time playing for the Staggies pre-dates that of Brittain and Kettlewell. The latter pair were instrumental in County’s ascension to Premiership status, with that 2012 team, which also featured Scott Boyd, Rocco Quinn, Michael Gardyne, Grant Munro and Michael Fraser, still generating great affection among County supporters.
Brittain said: “We’re still held in high regard and rightly so. We were a really successful team with a lot of honest, hard-working players in that squad. We didn’t earn the sums of money you see nowadays and did it with a lot less wages, which I think the fans could relate to. It was a very successful period for the club and hopefully we can get back to that.
“The club means everything to me. I had my best spell as a player here, making over 270 appearances and having an awful lot of successful times. We finished in the top six, went 40 games unbeaten and got to the Scottish Cup final.”
The timing of the announcement is critical. Much like Arsenal announcing Arsene Wenger’s departure ahead of their push for Europa League success, County have timed this to galvanise the squad further for four pivotal fixtures, starting at Hamilton on Saturday.
Brittain added: “The players are all pulling in one direction and credit to the two of them for uniting the squad. We’re under no illusions it’s going to take a massive effort to avoid relegation but the boys are confident – that’s credit to Stuart and Steven for galvanising the squad.
“It would be absolutely massive if we were to stay up. For large spells this season we were dead and buried and it’s down to Stuart and Steven that we’re in touching distance. We’ve picked up points from a very difficult position. They’ve got to take credit and hopefully we can take that into the final four games, which we know will be tough.”
