Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell expects Saturday’s Championship opponents Falkirk to pose a sterner challenge following the sacking of manager Paul Hartley.
Hartley was dismissed on Monday evening after starting the league campaign with three defeats, which have left the Bairns bottom of the table.
With interim manager Gordon Young expected to take charge of the side that travels to Dingwall this weekend, Kettlewell is wary of a reaction from a Falkirk squad, which Hartley added 16 new faces to over the summer.
Kettlewell said: “We’ve seen it so often, where a manager loses his job and a team gives a huge response – a type of performance not seen from them prior to that.
“I don’t know the circumstances and I’m not in a position to comment on that, but I am disappointed to see him lose his job. Paul Hartley is somebody I respect hugely and someone I have so much time for.
“Certainly, from our point of view, Saturday’s game maybe does become a slightly different proposition because you seem to get that extra 20% or 30% out of players not seen before.
“How they set up under Gordon Young, who is taking temporary charge, might be slightly different to how they would have set up under Paul. We’ve got to take these factors into account.”
Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding the Bairns, Kettlewell is urging his players to take matters into their own hands as they aim to recover from suffering their first league defeat of the season in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Morton.
He added: “Sometimes we maybe get lost in too many specifics and delving into things that maybe aren’t there. We feel as if we’ve got a good group and a lot of ability in our dressing room, and it’s a home match.
“We’ve been on the road for almost a month, so we approach it as a home game we’re looking to win. To win it, it doesn’t have to be this all-out gung-ho approach, it can be a measured approach at times.
“Can we turn our possession into chances? Can we turn our dominance in games, into being able to being able to manage it and find a way through?
“That’s the challenge for us and one we embrace and look forward to on Saturday.”
