Manager Malky Mackay reckons Ross County are ‘way ahead’ of where they were a year ago as they prepare for their Premiership opener at champions Celtic this weekend.
The Staggies won their Viaplay Cup Group D to land an away trip against Championship newcomers Airdrieonians on August 19.
The Diamonds beat Inverness 3-2 last week on the way to being the only team in the opening stages to secure the full 12 points as they topped Group E.
County were aiming to get through their section unscathed and beat Stranraer 5-1, Morton 2-1 and Edinburgh City 3-1 to set up that opportunity.
On Saturday, however, they led a 2-0 lead slip against League One visitors Kelty Hearts, as well as a late 3-2 advantage before losing 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out, which cost them a seeded spot in Sunday’s draw.
Although Airdrie will be difficult opponents, County will be relieved to have avoided Celtic, for example, beat them 4-1 in the second round last season.
Mackay has signed seven players this summer – defenders Josh Reid and James Brown, midfielders Scott Allardice, Kyle Turner and Max Sheaf, winger Jay Henderson and forward Eamonn Brophy.
He’s also taken in AFC Wimbledon centre half Will Nightingale on loan until January.
🏆 We will face Airdrieonians away from home in the last 16 of the Viaplay Cup.
The tie will be played on the weekend of the 19/20th August. pic.twitter.com/1BNNKy9mnL
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) July 30, 2023
New players are getting up to speed
So, when asked about the prospect of kicking off against the treble-winners this weekend, he said: “We’ve got a good group here and I’m delighted to get the boys in that I have.
“No matter what, the Celtic game is a really tough one. It takes care of itself.
“We just need to make sure we iron out the little things as we go.
“We’ve got some new players in the door and we’re changing players around. That being the case we’ve got to make sure we get up to speed as quickly as possible.
“We’re certainly way ahead of where we were last year, and the year before, where players were coming in right up to the last day in August and we were trying to mould a team together through September.
“The fact we have most of them in the door now is a positive and we’ve used the League Cup to get everyone up to speed and ready for the Premiership.”
Manager calls for ‘calmer heads’
The County manager, though disappointed with the goals they leaked against Kelty, insists they could have been even more clinical in their opponents’ boxes in July.
He added: “We’ve got to hit the target better than we do.
“We’ve scored a reasonable amount of goals in the League Cup, but we could have scored more.
“With a little bit calmer heads over the four games, we could have scored many more. We are creating chances.”