Ross County boss Malky Mackay clearly rates new St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson – and expects nothing other than a testing encounter in Dingwall this weekend.
The former Motherwell head coach has returned to Scotland from English League One side Morecambe to replace Jim Goodwin in the Paisley hot-seat after he replaced Stephen Glass at Aberdeen.
Back to back wins, big performance from the boys! Delighted to get another goal! We march on 🚀 pic.twitter.com/K7TRidnPAX
— Joseph Hungbo (@JosephHungbo) March 3, 2022
It’s been a stern first two Premiership games in charge of the Buddies, with a 2-0 weekend defeat to Hearts followed by a 2-0 midweek defeat away to leaders Celtic.
Saints are locked on 33 points with County ahead of Saturday’s showdown, but have a game in hand.
The Staggies continue to impress, with their 1-0 win on Wednesday in Motherwell pushing them into eighth position, just two points away from the top six, with just four matches left before the split.
County have lost just one match in nine at home and Hibs are the only team to defeat them in their last seven games.
In Regan Charles-Cook, they have the Premiership’s top scorer with 13 goals, while, as a team, their tally of 42 goals is only bettered by Celtic (62) and Rangers (59).
Prior to Robinson arriving at St Mirren, the Buddies had gone eight matches unbeaten and Mackay knows his opposite number will have them fired up for their trip north.
He said: “I know Stephen really well, and he did a great job at Motherwell.
“I was actually surprised when he was tipped to go to Hearts and it didn’t transpire.
“Obviously he felt he had got everything he could have achieved at Motherwell, so he moved down south, and the opportunity for him to come back to Scotland has come up again.
“It’s a good club, there are good people there. I know it well from my time at the Scottish FA, there’s a good structure behind the scenes, but it’s another team who were on a dreadful run.
“They couldn’t win a game, and then they managed to win three on the bounce.
“Jim’s no longer there, and he was a manager who had been there for three years, so there was a bit of stability at the club which is key.
“Stephen has come in and I have no doubt he’ll have them working hard, because that’s what he does, so it will be a hard game for us up here.
“He’s come off a couple of tough games with the teams they have played, but without a doubt Saturday will be a tough game for us up here.
“They will be resolute, so it’s a game we’ve got to make sure we start well.”
County tested league’s best at home
Cracking form at Victoria Park has been the base for County’s rise up the division.
Celtic needed a late, late winner to edge to victory in December, while Rangers and third-placed Hearts have been held to draws in Dingwall this term.
Mackay is eager to avoid Saints winning for a second time in the Highlands, with the visitors having left with a 3-2 triumph in October when County were still finding their feet after a summer overhaul.
The Staggies boss said: “It’s only one defeat in nine at home I believe now, which is a great credit to the players for actually making this a fortress, and the ability to allow our fans to come here and really enjoy our performances.
“Having Celtic and Rangers here in the last six to eight weeks and taking a point off Rangers in quite dramatic circumstances on television, and obviously the couple of weeks before that taking it to the 97th minute before Celtic managed to score, that gives us confidence.
“We can play anybody in the league here, and it will be a tough game for them.
“We’ve got to make sure that’s the case in every home game we’ve got left. We have to keep driving forward, because we can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal.
“We’ve got to this point now, and we’ve got to make sure that this continues right through to the finishing line.”
Chase for top six alive and kicking
After facing St Mirren, County have a free weekend before they return to action on March 19 with a tasty trip to Celtic Park.
Mackay can’t believe there are now just nine fixtures left after another hectic flurry of games.
He added: “We had that intense period in the lead up to Christmas where we had a lot of games in a short space of time, and we just wanted to garner as many points as we could up to that point.
Icy cool – @JosephHungbo 🥶#cinchPrem | @RossCounty pic.twitter.com/4uyAiOXBeX
— SPFL (@spfl) March 3, 2022
“I’ve been really delighted that after the break we’ve really hit the ground running in terms of picking up points.
“Every week I chalk off another team on the fixture list on my board, and we’re down to nine games. It’s quite incredible, I don’t know where the season has gone.
“There have been quite intense periods, and then periods of breaks for one reason or another, then intense periods again.
“We’re coming off the back of another one just now with the midweek game, and then a break again. We’ve got to make sure we keep that consistency now.
“What we’ve got is a group that has confidence about themselves. They know that they can come back from a goal down to win games, they know they can take a lead and hold it, and they can run hard for 95 minutes against tough teams away from home.
“Motherwell was another feather in their cap for that.”
County expect to have the same squad this weekend, with captain Keith Watson still out with a calf injury.
