Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell has urged his side to take note of Hamilton Accies’ battling traits which have kept them in the Premiership for several years.
The Staggies make the trip to New Douglas Park today to face an Accies side which opened their seventh successive top-flight campaign last weekend, starting with a 5-1 loss against Celtic.
Brian Rice’s men are perpetually tipped for relegation but have defied the odds with every passing season, and Kettlewell feels there is much to be admired about the Lanarkshire outfit.
Kettlewell said: “We’re in a similar mindset with some of the negative messages that come out about our club in the same way they do about Hamilton.
“When you’re a fighter and someone that thrives on trying to win, we hope that we’ve formulated a group that have the same nature.
“I believe we’re going to have two teams going for a win on Saturday, but that fighting spirit and being hard to play against is key.
“Last season our frustration was that 1–0 games turned into 4–0, and I believe that even on your worst day you can hang in games.
“There are things there that we would like to improve on that Hamilton have had plaudits for over the years, and it goes back to that same fighting spirit.”
Kettlewell fielded virtually a new back four in Monday’s 1-0 victory over Motherwell, with new signings Alex Iacovitti and Connor Randall brought in along with teenage left back Josh Reid.
Although he was encouraged by the start, Kettlewell insists there will be plenty to come from other members of his squad.
He added: “I was getting a dozen questions before the game about the goals we conceded last year, but the picture that I wanted to paint is that it’s a fresh start.
“We have basically a new back four, Coll Donaldson had only played a few games for us before being injured in the lead up to lock down, so it was pretty much a new back four for us on Monday.
“It’s a fresh start, and there are still some guys in our squad that have played in the last couple of seasons that I believe will contribute massively for us over the piece as well.
“I’m not saying we have new players so it’s all going to be better, but I think there is a new focus and a new challenge and as such we’ll deal with the bits that come from this period of time onwards.”
