Midfielder Stewart Murdoch claims Ross County’s Jim McIntyre must be among the contenders for the manager-of-the-year prize.
McIntyre has led County into the Premiership top six for only the second time and last month secured the Staggies’ first major silverware with a League Cup final victory against Hibernian.
Murdoch was one of several players drafted in by McIntyre last summer, joining from English League 1 club Fleetwood Town, and the Aberdeen-born midfielder feels the manager’s changes to the squad have worked to great effect.
Murdoch said: “At the start of the season we set targets and I think everyone knows we’ve achieved every one – and better. The aim was to get into the top six and get to a semi-final.
“We’ve got into the top six and we’re ending the season with a cup. If you’re putting names in a hat I think he’s got to be one of them. It’s credit to him, he’s got to build his own team this year and we’ve achieved.
“Every manager is in a different situation with different pressures. The chairman has backed our manager and he’s brought a pressure on himself by bringing in players on decent wages for the size of club we are.”
Murdoch netted a superb equalising goal in yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Premiership champions Celtic at Parkhead, cancelling out Leigh Griffiths’ opener with a crisp 30-yard drive.
It was just Murdoch’s second goal for the Staggies and the 25-year-old is aiming to score on a more regular basis.
He added: “I’ve not scored many goals and I don’t think I’ve ever hit one like that. It just dropped to me and I had that much time on the edge of the box. I’m delighted to score.
“I went to Fleetwood for two years and I didn’t even score for them, although I scored one out on loan at Northampton. It’s not really one of my big things but if I get a chance to shoot from distance I’ll take it.”
