Steven Ferguson insists travel disruption prevented any possibility of Ross County reaching Glasgow in time for their Premiership fixture against Rangers.
The Ibrox encounter was called off at 1.15pm on Wednesday, amidst a day of severe travel chaos caused by Storm Gerrit.
The A9 was closed in both directions due to heavy snowfall in the Dalwhinnie and Drumochter areas, before heavy flooding subsequently closed the stretch between Ballinluig and Dunkeld.
Derek Adams’ squad had been making the journey southbound on the day of the game, while chief executive Ferguson was also caught up in the gridlock.
Ferguson, who spent around four hours on the trunk road after setting off at 11am, says it increasingly became apparent it was not going to be feasible to continue the journey.
Road was not re-opening any time soon
Ferguson said: “We got to the queue at Dalwhinnie, and then sat in the queue for a couple of hours. We were just edging along, but by the time we came back up the road the police were stopping people and u-turning them just south of Aviemore.
“The southbound carriageway was shut and you couldn’t go any further than that.
“There was flooding at Ballinluig and Dunkeld and that was shut as well. Three parts of the road were unpassable for the length of time we sat there.
“There was no sign of the road opening. We could have sat there for another couple of hours and it wouldn’t have made a blind bit of difference.
“Our kitman left an hour ahead of me, and they didn’t get any further. It was the same queue of traffic, and nobody could go anywhere.
“It’s really disappointing – but the right call.
“We were in dialogue with the SPFL and the police, and after speaking to the police it became clear the road was not going to be opened.”
Early afternoon call-off was neccessary
Storm Gerrit has caused widespread travel disruption with snow, heavy rain and strong winds causing havoc.
Aberdeen’s Premiership fixture against Motherwell was also called off later in the day.
In light of the challenging weather conditions, Ferguson felt it was sensible to call the game off at the earliest opportunity.
Following consultation with Police Scotland regarding today’s weather conditions on the A9, this evening’s match against Rangers has been postponed. pic.twitter.com/BMdbVXxCdj
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) December 27, 2023
He added: “With the amount of people travelling to the game – 50,000 supporters – to get everybody to travel there and for us to not make it down wouldn’t have been right.
“We can only go with the advice we are given.
“We were on the road and ready to play the game. Because it was a 7.45pm kick-off, there was no point in us going down the road on Tuesday night.
“If it’s the day of the game, Derek would rather travel on the day of the game. That’s normal for us.
“This was only a yellow warning this time, and it seems to have been worse than some of the amber warnings we have had.
“We do this every second trip, so we are much more battle-hardened to it than anybody else. We know the process and we were in touch with everybody.
“There’s just a real frustration which comes from the fact we actually couldn’t do any more than we did – and we just couldn’t get through.
“That’s the bit we just need to accept.”
Staggies hoping to return to action at Tynecastle
The postponed trip to Ibrox becomes County’s fifth call-off of the campaign, and their second in succession after Saturday’s home fixture against Hibernian succumbed to a waterlogged pitch.
Ferguson is hopeful the disruption will clear in time for the Staggies to return to Premiership action in Saturday’s match against Hearts at Tynecastle.
Ferguson added: “It becomes back-to-back. Our pitch is excellent, it was just two parts that put it off on Saturday.
“For us to set sail at 11am on Wednesday for a 7.45pm kick-off and not get down the A9, I don’t see what anybody else could have done.
“We were advised by Police Scotland, and our safety team was speaking with Rangers’ safety team.
“All bus and train travel has been cancelled, and the road was closed in three parts.”
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