Jamie Lindsay’s absence against Celtic this weekend will be a source of deep frustration for Ross County.
But Staggies co-manager Stuart Kettlewell believes the young midfielder is destined to play a crucial part in the Dingwall side’s fight for Premiership survival.
Under the terms of his loan, Lindsay is barred from facing his parent club and was instead in action for County’s development league team yesterday away to Hamilton Accies.
Lindsay’s powerful midfield performance in the 2-2 draw with Accies’ first team 11 days ago, where he netted the opening goal, came after an eight-week absence with a niggling ankle problem.
That made Saturday’s enforced lay-off for the trip to Celtic Park all the more galling for Kettlewell and co-manager Steve Ferguson, but the former was impressed by the 22-year-old Celt’s willingness to pitch in with the under 20s.
Kettlewell said: “It is obviously disappointing to lose Jamie for the Celtic match. We all saw his performance against Hamilton, where I thought he was excellent.
“In my opinion, we were by far the better team and Jamie was a big part of that with his energy and quality, as well as his composure for the finish.
“He looked like the all-round midfielder to me. That’s something myself and Steven, coming into the job, felt Jamie could offer.
“He has had a stop-start time of it through injury, as well as during the international and cup breaks, so it is good for him to get back out on the pitch. And it is testimony to his attitude.”
County will face a monumental test against the champions, with the length of the league table and a gulf in resources separating the clubs.
But Kettlewell, who deployed a forward-thinking 3-5-2 shape against Accies, will not shy away from playing two strikers against Celtic if he and Ferguson feel the bold move can be effective.
He said: “Alex Schalk and Billy Mckay looked really sharp together and showed a great understanding against Hamilton. They were both desperately unlucky not to score.
“When you consider how much of a threat Billy was, they did everything but score. We know they’re good finishers and their work ethic and energy was outstanding. I think it massive for a team when you’re able to press from the front like they did, although we have other good options there in David Ngog and Craig Curran.
“Two up front against Celtic is certainly something we could do. There are different ways we can approach it – we have that flexibility in probably the biggest squad this club has had.
“More and more teams are trying to press from the front against Celtic. I don’t think it is wise to go out on the pitch with one approach as, inevitably, that changes throughout the game.
“We’re looking to see how we can adapt to what we see from Celtic, they’re also very good at changing their system as play progresses.”
