It may be the season of goodwill but Ross County goalkeeper Scott Fox expects anything but a warm reception when he returns to Firhill to face former club Partick Thistle tomorrow.
Fox made the move to Victoria Park after leaving the Jags in the summer, ending his five-year stint with the Glasgow club.
The 28-year-old was on the receiving end of abuse from visiting supporters when he played in the Staggies’ 1-0 home win against Partick in September and he expects even more when he returns to his former ground for the first time since his departure.
The former Celtic goalkeeper holds no ill-feeling towards his old club, though, insisting the lure of a fresh challenge at Dingwall was too much to resist.
Fox said: “It will be my first time back at Firhill, so I’ll be looking forward to it. Hopefully, I don’t get too much involved and we can just try and win the game.
“Their supporters gave me a wee bit of a hard time when they came up, so I think I’ll get more. I just take it – I’d have been more hurt if they didn’t.
“I was offered a contract with Partick but I wanted a change. I had been there five years and things were a bit static. The opportunity came up here and it was one that interested me.
“The manager spoke about the ambition the club had, so it was more that. I was close to home with Partick but for my career I needed to get a wee push.
“The journey is a bit of a jaunt but it’s nice and I enjoy it here. It’s been good so far and hopefully it continues.”
Fox made his return to the starting line-up in County’s 3-1 victory against Hamilton Accies last weekend, having been sidelined for two months with an ankle ligament injury.
After dislodging on-loan Leyton Orient goalkeeper Gary Woods, Fox is determined to help the Staggies pick up from where they left off.
He added: “It was good to get back playing again. It was an important game we had to win, so it was good to get the nod.
“It was a massive result – it got us back on top of Hamilton. If they had won that it would have created a wee bit of a gap ahead of us, so it was a positive result.
“We just want to put a run together now.”