Whatever happens in the race for the First Division Championship this season, it has been a record breaking year for Ross County captain Richard Brittain.
The Dingwall side, who sit 12 points clear of the field in the First Division, face Falkirk this weekend looking to stretch their unbeaten run to 26 games, however Brittain has already beaten a personal best.
Midfielder Brittain played a captain’s part in their recent match against Ayr United when he scored all 3 goals at Somerset Park in their 3-2 success and he admitted, “That was not just my first hat-trick it was the first time I had even scored two goals in a game. My first goal was a free kick and I have scored a few free kicks in my time and my second was a penalty and I have scored a few of them before, however my third goal was a bit special.”
“We had been two up and then it was two each and as everyone knows Ayr are really strong on their home ground especially when they are shooting towards the goal their fans stand behind. We had to stand strong as they looked for a winner and I got the chance to have a shot from distance with about 10 minutes to go.”
Brittain’s strike flew home to win the game with the 28-year-old saying, “It was an - if you don’t shoot, then you will never score type effort - and thankfully I scored from it. It was a great way to secure my first ever senior hat-trick. A double was good but three was excellent.”
It has taken Brittain almost 12 years to get that initial treble as he explained, “I lived in Bathgate and started training nearby at Livingston at aged 12. I went full time with them in 2000 when I was 16 and made my debut there in January 2002.”
“They were a SPL side at the time and it was exciting to be there as there were top quality players coming in from all over Europe at that time.”
The following season Brittain featured in the first team aged 19 again at various times, however he went out on loan for the first half of the season to Raith Rovers and despite gaining plenty of experience he missed out on a Hampden date as a result.
Eight years ago this week the Lions defeated Hibs 2-0 to win the CIS Insurance Cup, and in the same manner as then and now team-mate Colin McMenamin, Brittain was cup-tied having featured for the Kirkcaldy men in an earlier round.
Brittain said, “I was at Raith from the start of the season to Christmas time. By the time the Final came in March I was back playing for Livi’s first team but I had to drop out for that game. Colin who had been with Falkirk earlier in the season missed out as well.”
The following season Brittain sampled European football when he was on the bench as Livingston hosted Austrian side Strum Graz in the UEFA Cup in a game that the West Lothian side won 4-3, however they dropped out after an 8-6 aggregate loss.
In season 2005-2006 Brittain was joined in gold and black colours by County boss Derek Adams, however it was to end in disappointment as the club’s five year spell in the top flight came to an end as they were relegated.
Just over a year later Adams was appointed manager at County with Brittain honest enough to admit that he was surprised saying, “Some people will say that they always reckoned that so and so would make it as a manager but I didn’t with Derek. He was aged less than 30 when he was with us and his move surprised me but he has certainly shown that he is a manager now.”
Brittain added, “There a few former Livingston boys at County now as apart from the boss, Colin and I, Stevie Craig and Sam Morrow also played there. I scored a penalty against Livingston earlier in the season, Colin scored twice against them home and away and Sam has also netted against Livingston this season so I am not sure how popular we are down there now.”
Just as Adams had returned to Ross County in summer of 2006 as a prelude to becoming their manager Brittain was also on the move as he joined St. Mirren for a 2 year spell in the SPL. The first season was memorable for Brittain as he featured in over 30 games for the Paisley side as well as scoring a fine goal against Rangers in the Saturday between Christmas and New Year as the Buddies grabbed a 1-1 draw at Ibrox.
Brittain laughed, “That goal seems to have been the only thing I ever did at St. Mirren, however it was a special moment.”
“I was wearing a T-shirt dedicated to my pal, who had lost his life during the summer underneath my top and I was able to show that off when I scored.”
The first season at Paisley had been a success, however his second did not go so well as he said, “I broke my foot in the second season and missed out for a wee while and that was disappointing.”
Brittain was able to claim a unique piece of history that season as he was the last ever player to be substituted in a game involving Gretna when he was replaced by Craig Molloy with 7 minutes to go in their goalless draw.
Despite this claim Brittain was a free agent in the summer off 2008 and the old Livingston connection paid off as he explained, “I was pals with James McPake when he was there and then he became a pal of Stevie Craig when he joined after I left. Stevie also comes from Bathgate like I do and he was signing with Ross County and he said he would throw my name in in case the boss was looking for a midfielder.”
“They had just won the Second Division and I thought I could do something for them if they wanted me. Derek called and he asked me about my broken foot as I thought I was still injured but I told him I had come back at the end of the season and before I knew it I was up at Dingwall and signing for them.”
Brittain added, “That first season was all about the club surviving in the First Division and we did that with a win at Morton on the final day of the season and I scored that day as well. We played Airdrie in the final of the ALBA Challenge Cup but we lost that, however staying up was the real prize that season.”
“We have looked to consolidate on that every year since.”
Surely getting to a Scottish Cup Final the following year is more than consolidating Brittain was asked and he said, “It was a great run and we had some fantastic results but the Final is the biggest disappointment of my career as we never got going but nothing you can do about that now.”
Last season was a strange one as Adams moved on to be the assistant manager of Hibs, Craig Brewster took over the reins temporarily before Willie McStay and Jimmy Calderwood occupied the Manager’s Office.
On the field it was a mixed time as well as County flirted with relegation with Brittain saying, “It was a strange season and it just shows you that no-one has a divine right to stay in this league. We had a strong squad but were only safe with a couple of games to go.”
“We won the Challenge Cup but again staying in the First Division was the bigger prize.”
Adams returned in the summer to manage again and he brought in 7 new faces with Brittain saying, “We have a good experience in our side now and we have kicked on again this season. We settled quickly after a couple of disappointing results, when we went out of the Ramsdens Cup to Elgin and then lost 5-1 to Hamilton in the league but we have done well since then.”
“We exorcised some demons at Hamilton last weekend by winning 2-0 there after that defeat earlier in the season.”
Whilst there is plenty of experience in the ranks there is a freshness with Brittain adding, “Most of the players and I have never been on a run like the one we are on just now. We have been to Dundee twice and been to Falkirk twice as well as having a lot of other difficult games and not been beaten and long may that continue. 26 games unbeaten really is a great measure of how well we have done but we have won nothing yet so we will have our feet on the ground until we see how the season goes.”
The Second top Bairns travel north this weekend with Brittain saying, “Every game is a big game now as teams see us a scalp to take and Falkirk will be no different. They play football in a good way and have exciting young players in their squad so we need to be more than ready for that.”
.png){kind=logo}
