Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor has his fingers crossed for a hat-trick of successes for north football this month.
His main concern is for his own club to maintain their Premiership status by getting the required results in their last two games to secure their place in the top-flight.
However, he hopes that Highland League champions Brora Rangers – bossed by former Ross County player Steven Mackay – can overturn their 2-0 pyramid play-off deficit against Lowland League winners Kelty Hearts this Saturday to reach the play-off final.
Completing the triple whammy for the area would be Elgin City to win promotion to League One via their play-offs, which start at home to Edinburgh City this weekend.
Tannadice triumph is level to maintain after inconsistent streak
The Dingwall club sent out a big statement of survival intent on Saturday by winning 2-0 at Dundee United to move up to 10th spot with a bold performance.
County now need to follow that up with a win against Hamilton at Victoria Park on Wednesday before they finish against Motherwell a week on Sunday.
A County win over the Accies, allied with 11th-placed Kilmarnock losing to St Mirren, would keep them in the top division with one match to spare.
Manager John Hughes replaced Stuart Kettlewell in the hot-seat just before Christmas, but the side have not followed one win up with another in 2021, which Hughes targeted as soon as the final whistle blew at Tannadice last week.
Chairman MacGregor concedes that aspect will require inspection once the dust settles on the campaign.
He said: “We’re back in control, but we have been so inconsistent. We haven’t won two games in a row the whole year.
“We have been so up and down and it is down to the guys to go out and prove what happened at Tannadice can happen three matches in a row.
“We’ve been too inconsistent and we’ll have to examine at the end of the season as to why that has been the case. It has been a frustration for everyone.
“There have been some notable wins (against Celtic, Hibs and Aberdeen), but that has been both a good thing and a source of frustration. Why can’t we do that every week?
“We haven’t been too good at that, so we will take stock, but that’s not for now. That’s for the end of the season.”
Flying the flag for north football
While County’s survival would again make them the region’s only Premiership club after Caley Thistle just missed out on the play-offs, MacGregor is keen for their neighbours from across the Kessock Bridge to rejoin them as soon as possible.
And the Staggies chief hopes Elgin and Brora can make it through their respective play-offs to climb the senior ladder.
He stressed: “Yes, you want your own club to be in the Premiership, but I want Caley Thistle to be in it too. If my own club was not in it, I’d want them to be in it.
“We want our clubs to be competing at the highest level that will encourage people up here. We want to be flying the flag for the Highlands. That’s important to me.
“I am right behind Brora Rangers and their attempts to gain promotion to League Two via the pyramid play-offs.
“I know they have a challenge going to Kelty on Saturday, but to have another team from this area progress would be great.
“It creates the right infrastructure. We also have Elgin City in the play-off from League Two, which is also fantastic for the north. I wish them well.”
TV winner for Ross County supporters during Covid
One of the real positives in a difficult term for County has been the TV package they have delivered for fans kept at home due to the pandemic. Last summer they assembled a top team to front their coverage.
MacGregor explained: “I think we have been the best viewed clubs in terms of pay-per-view. We set up a studio with several top people and ran it very much like the BT Sport product.
“Rory Hamilton and Stephen Craigan hosting it has been really important in giving our own supporters that feeling that this is not just a streaming service, it has a journalistic element as well. We have tried to add value to the season ticket.
“We decided early on that we would do our best on that front.
“People in Skye or Thurso, due to Covid, could not move two miles, never mind 100 miles, so we decided to give them the best product as far as we could, knowing that it wouldn’t just be a satellite (feed).
“Our audiences seem very happy with that product.”
