Ross County boss Derek Adams is confident a second successive call-off won’t affect his players as they seek to defeat Hearts at Tynecastle this weekend.
Last Saturday’s home Premiership match against Hibs was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Then, on Wednesday, with County stuck on the snowbound A9, the SPFL, aided by Police Scotland’s advice, opted to postpone their match against Rangers at Ibrox.
It means the Staggies have not played since their last-gasp 1-0 home defeat to Dundee on December 16.
Now they prepare to face in-form Hearts at Tynecastle, fresh from the Jambos’ dramatic 1-0 derby win at Hibs, thanks to a winner from Lawrence Shankland.
The impact of Storm Gerrit on Wednesday caused major travel trouble throughout part of Scotland, with Aberdeen v Motherwell also called off.
The A9 was shut both ways due to heavy snowfall at the Drumochter and Dalwhinnie sections, with flooding soon after affecting the Ballinluig and Dunkeld areas.
Although Rangers and County wanted the game on, there was an agreement that safety came first for fans of both sides travelling as well as the visitors who were facing a losing battle to reach Glasgow.
Extra training time was real positive
Adams looked at the positive side of the situation as he gained extra training time on Thursday.
He said: “It was the correct decision (to postpone the match).
“The league had to make that decision on Wednesday afternoon, because as we all know the A9 was closed for much of the day and it was going to be impossible not just for us to get to the game, but for supporters from both sides to get to the game.
“It was the correct decision. We’re all disappointed the game was off, but there was no other decision the league could have made.
“It’s just something that you have to deal with – it’s not too big of a problem.
“We’ve been able to train in Dingwall, but from our point of view we’ve missed two games against Hibernian and Rangers.
“What it has done is allow us some training time.”
Players will be ready for hectic run
With just 17 league matches played, only Aberdeen with 16, have played fewer fixtures than County, with games stacking up for after the winter break which follows this Tuesday’s clash between the north rivals in Dingwall.
Adams says his players will relish rather than dread the packed schedule following their Scottish Cup tie against Partick Thistle on January 20.
He said: “We’re obviously going to go back into a period at the end of January and February where we’re playing on Saturdays and Tuesdays for a bit.
“That will be nice, because the players probably enjoy that more than training.
“We’ll get a period of rest from games for two and a half weeks, but we’ll be training hard in that period too.”
🎟️ Tickets for Saturday's trip to face Heart of Midlothian are still available.
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— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) December 28, 2023
County are keen to test hosts Hearts
Shankland is hogging the headlines due to his goal exploits, but Hearts also have three clean sheets in a row as they sit third in the top-flight.
Adams, however, backs County to ask questions of Steven Naismith’s side in the capital.
He said: “We have to go there and create opportunities, take the ball and get into that final third.
“We obviously have to deal with the threat of not only Lawrence Shankland, but the other players who have done well for them this season.
“They are third in the league for a reason, and they have done well in the league, and in Europe, over a number of seasons.”
Seven-point haul so far for Adams
Since Adams replaced Malky Mackay as the manager of County for his third spell in charge, they have taken seven points out of 15.
A 0-0 draw against Kilmarnock preceded 1-0 and 3-0 wins over St Mirren and Motherwell.
St Mirren’s 2-0 win against County in Paisley was Adams’ first defeat since the start of his third spell in charge then the sore 1-0 loss to Dundee kept the Dingwall team on 17 points.
