Ross County goalkeeper Scott Fox has started the season as he means to continue with a determined guarding of the Staggies’ goal.
Fox has kept clean sheets in County’s two opening Betfred Cup victories over Elgin City and Dundee United, with the former Partick Thistle goalkeeper making an outstanding double save from Nicky Clark’s penalty in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over the Arabs.
After keeping four clean sheets during last season’s League Cup group campaign, County went on to record only five in a miserable season which saw them relegated from the Premiership.
Fox is eager to improve on that tally in the Championship this year, and he said: “It was just one of those things. As a goalkeeper you just hedge your bets and I went the right way. It was unfortunate for me I had to get back up and do it again.
“I got away with it and we’ve won the game. The second one was harder. The ball has hit me and gone over and you just take those breaks when you can get them.
“For a goalkeeper, a penalty save is pretty much the pinnacle – like a goal is to the strikers.
“I’m more happy with the clean sheet – it’s something we didn’t do enough of last season.
“It is good to get back-to-back clean sheets and we can take it from there.”
Fox was one of a number of players to commit his future to the Dingwall club following its relegation from the top-flight, having spent the last three years with the Staggies following his move from Thistle in 2015.
The 31-year-old hopes County’s squad can enjoy their football again under co-managers Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson, adding: “We’re looking to put what happened last year to the back of our minds and rediscover that winning feeling.
“We were in a bad place last year and it is all about restoring the feelgood factor and the confidence.
“Last year, if I’d saved a penalty like that, it would have probably spun away from me and they’d have scored in the corner.
“As a group, we’ve a lot of new players in as well as a group who were here last year.
“We’re just trying to build something and push forward again.
“The managers have said we can look at these games as an extra bit of pre-season but they also pushed it hard that this was when we start building.
“We know it is going to be a long, tough season. There will no doubt be a few rifts here or there, but the spirit is good and we’re looking to build from here.”
