Ross County winger Simon Power is still awaiting the green light to make his Staggies debut in tomorrow’s Betfred Cup tie against Montrose.
Irishman Power joined on loan from Norwich City during last week’s pre-season training camp in Holland, but was unable to feature in either of the Dingwall side’s friendlies against Groningen and GFA Deventer City due to international clearance not being received.
The registration issue stems from the 21-year-old’s loan spell with Dutch second-tier outfit Dordrecht last season, with Power still awaiting clearance yesterday.
Although it has been a frustrating wait for the Staggies and Power, co-manager Stuart Kettlewell is hopeful the pacy wide player can hit the ground running once he is cleared to play.
Kettlewell said: “Simon had a busy summer. He was involved in the Toulon tournament with Republic of Ireland’s under-21s, and impressed there.
“We know he’s not had a lot of training sessions or any game time with us as yet, but physically he’s in a good place with it being a longer summer for him.
“He’s raring to go. He’s somebody that brings a different dimension to the team and has different attributes.
“We are hopeful he can fulfil some of his potential with us over the next season.”
Kettlewell insists the Staggies’ full squad will be given the opportunity to impress him and fellow co-manager Steven Ferguson during the Betfred Cup group stage, and he says it is up to each player to grasp his chance.
County will also take on Brechin City, St Johnstone and Forfar Athletic in their section, and Kettlewell added: “It’s a great headache. Similar to what we did last year, it’s so important that everybody that has gone through that process of pre-season has an opportunity to impress us in a competitive game.
“We have seen everybody in friendly matches, so now we need to pitch them into competitive football.
“We have already got a plan of how that will look over the next four games. Injuries and fatigue will determine how that goes, and maybe alter our plans slightly.
“But we know what way we want to go, and we will focus on getting a lot of people game time over the next four games.
“It does become demanding with a couple of games each week, as the players have worked hard to this stage. We just need to make sure we balance that off right.
“The gauntlet then goes down to the players to go and impress us, and show us they are ready to pitch their hat into the ring for a Premiership season.
“I think it’s a great carrot to dangle in front of the players ahead of the new season.”
