Worthy Champions

Ross County’s Victoria Park ground will host a sell-out title party this Saturday against Hamilton Academical and fans that cannot get to see The Staggies in action will still be able to see the title winners.

League sponsor IRN-BRU is providing an open top bus to take Manager Derek Adams and his squad on a tour around the Highland town to celebrate what is certainly a worthy League Championship success.

Adams sat down this week to discuss his club’s historic season and he provided a detailed insight into how the County campaign started off slowly, gathered pace, had a mid-season stutter (of sorts) before the First Division title was captured with Adams also setting his team one more target to hit before the season runs out.

For a side that now sit 21 points clear of second placed Dundee, it is worth remembering that the season began in modest fashion with one League win in the opening six games, a Ramsdens Cup defeat from Elgin City and a comeback from a goal down to defeat the ten men of Queen’s Park in The Scottish Communities League Cup.

The League season opened up with a home game against a Morton side that had scored 11 times against Stranraer and Alloa Athletic in the knockout competitions and Adams admits to being wary of the Greenock men for that one.

The County boss said: “They were scoring for fun at that time as their games in The Ramsdens and The Scottish Communities League Cup showed.  It was important for us to start the season well and to be honest, I was quite pleased to keep a clean sheet and get a point on board.”

The following weekend saw the only League defeat of the season so far as the Dingwall side lost 5-1 at Hamilton with Adams saying: “We actually played not too badly that day but we lost Jonny Flynn to a red card when we were 2-1 down.  He had given away a penalty and that became 3-1 as a result.  Whilst we did play reasonably well in parts of that game, it was a deserved win for Hamilton.”

Adams does not look for the easy excuse that the loss could have been as a result of his squad taking time to knit together after his own return from Hibernian and the arrival of seven new players in the summer.

The Victoria Park boss said: “Only a few of the seven that came in started that game and whilst there was a bit of settling down, I do not think that was a factor.”

The following week the first three point haul of the season was earned in a battling manner against a visiting Queen of the South side with Adams saying: “We won that game 2-0 but we had to do it with ten men as Stuart Kettlewell was sent off with 20 minutes to go.

“Steven Craig came off the bench and scored twice in the last three minutes and that was a vital contribution as we needed a win.”

The win was to prove vital as County drew the next three games, away at Falkirk and then home to Partick Thistle and Livingston, and that run actually saw them slip down into eighth place in mid-September.

There was no panic with Adams saying: “Falkirk were playing very well at this time but we were winning down there until three minutes from the end.  The Partick game ended 2-2 and that was a really frustrating day as we were two ahead and in control of the game until Gary Miller was sent off for hand ball in the box.

“Paul Cairney scored the penalty and Chris Erskine grabbed a late equaliser and whilst Gary’s red card was overturned on appeal, it was a factor in that game being drawn.”

That frustration was not helped with a 1-1 draw with Livingston during which Steven Craig and Livi’s Paul Watson were dismissed.

County then started a run that was to prove the backbone of their Championship success as nine wins in a row were clocked up and eighth place became fourth before becoming second with the leadership assumed following a 15th October win against Dundee at Dens Park and, they have remained there ever since.

“We had been playing well,” said Adams before adding, “And we just needed some tinkering to turn draws into wins.  I knew a win was coming and we went down to Raith Rovers and got one with Scott Boyd scoring with a header.  Looking back, that was a very big win in a really tight game.”

As the team grew in confidence, Ayr were beaten 4-0 at home to set County up for their contest against Dundee with Adams saying: “We went behind to a Matt Lockwood penalty but Colin McMenamin got us level by half-time and Rocco Quinn won it in the second half.  It was a really important win as it took us top and we showed that we had character by coming back and winning against one of the favourites for the title.”

A 1-0 win gave an element of revenge over Hamilton Accies with good away wins at Morton and Partick setting The Staggies up for the visit of a second placed Falkirk side that were in the Semi-Finals of The Scottish Communities League Cup after defeating Rangers and Dundee United as well as having booked a place in The Ramsdens Cup Final.

A 3-1 home success thanks to goals from Kettlewell, Michael Gardyne and Gary Miller earned a seventh win in a row and opened up a six point gap but there was no resting on laurels.

County’s next trip was to be a real test as Adams explained: “We travelled to Livingston and that was a real test as they were unbeaten at home for over 18 months.  Also Ross County had never beaten Livingston or Meadowbank Thistle in any game.”

The Lions were dismissed 3-0 and by this stage, the promotion push from the north of Scotland was catching everyone’s eye.  The final win in that run came against Raith Rovers with a 4-2 success however, Adams was not one for predicting that his side would go on and win things.

“I carried on with the same approach I had adopted from the start of the season,” said Adams before adding, “One game at a time was doing us fine and that is the way I remained until we got over the finishing line when Dundee drew with Queen of the South earlier this month.”

County then had what can only be described as a 'dip' in results in comparison to their nine successive wins.

The two month period from 17th December to 25th February that opened and closed with draws against Dundee saw only one win earned but just as importantly in a psychological sense to County, and the sides chasing them, no defeats were experienced.

McMenamin scored against the Dark Blues with eight minutes to go to earn a draw and then on Boxing Day, the striker scored an even later goal to earn a point at Falkirk.  A goalless draw against battling Queen of the South side brought in League football for 2012 with the only win in this run being secured against Livingston with former Lions McMenamin and Sam Morrow grabbing the goals in a 3-0 success.

Raith Rovers and then Ayr United hit back late in games to deny home wins before another trip to Dens Park ended in a 1-1 draw with Ryan Conroy’s penalty cancelling out Kettlwell’s opener.

Adams said: “It said a lot about the players that they came back against Dundee and then Falkirk, as they were the two teams challenging us the most. It was really important in the time before and after Christmas that, if we were not going to win games, then we did not lose them.

At this time Falkirk, who had played three games more, had drawn level with County at the top of the table. The visit to Somerset Park on 29th February to take on Ayr United was a real challenge of County’s ambitions as they looked to win the first of their games in hand.

County won 3-2 in a topsy-turvy game during which Richard Brittain played a real captain’s role as Adams explained: “Richard scored a great free kick and then a penalty to have us two ahead at half-time.  Ayr scored twice in the second half and had their fans behind the goal they were shooting towards roaring them on and Richard stepped up with a great goal from 25 yards.  He took responsibility to get us that win.”

Wins quickly followed against Queen of the South, Partick Thistle and Hamilton Accies to deflate the chasing clubs although a 2-2 draw with Morton on 25th March still rankles with Adams.

The County boss said: “We were two up and in control before losing a late goal.  To make matters worse, they then got a hotly disputed penalty to draw level.  That was the only game played that night and it was a chance lost to open up a bigger lead than the one we had at that time.”

Falkirk, who by this time were 12 points behind, travelled north on the Saturday following the Morton draw for what was a real do or die encounter for them.  County won 2-1 with the early dismissal of their former goalkeeper Michael McGovern when he conceded a penalty that was converted by Brittain giving the Bairns a mountain they could not climb.

The following week saw County head to Glasgow and defeat Partick Thistle 1-0 with McMenamin scoring the winner with Adams saying: “That game was a real test of our mettle.  It was a difficult game on a bobbly pitch as a game of rugby had been played on it the night before.  They had beaten Queen of the South 5-0 the week before and were coming into it with great confidence.”

Also at this time, County found themselves being criticised by rival Managers for their efficient manner with Adams saying: “People were having a go at us for our style but it was just a ploy to unsettle us.  It never worked as the players stood up to that test as well.”

A 1-1 draw with Raith Rovers slowed down the capture of the title with Adams saying: “That was another late penalty and a hard result to take.  A win would have moved us really close but we never got it.”

Another win at Livingston, this time a 3-1 success, gave County the chance to win the title under their own steam in a midweek match on Wednesday, 11th April away to Ayr United.

Adams said: “We could have won it at the weekend but Dundee defeated Falkirk to keep themselves in it.  They played Queen of the South 24 hours before we faced Ayr and a win for Dundee would have seen us have to beat Ayr to win the title.

“I went down and watched their game with Chris Higgins scoring late on to get Queen of the South a 1-1 draw which meant the title was ours.”

Adams was asked if he would have preferred Dundee to have won and for his side to capture the Championship with a win at Somerset Park and he said: “To be honest, I was quite happy with how the title was won.  It was very enjoyable to leave Dens Park as Manager of the First Division Champions.”

A win was still secured at Somerset Park with Adams saying: “The Ayr game was a difficult night for us as a lot of fans had travelled down and were expecting us to go out and win the game in style.  After a goalless first half, we scored but they hit back quite quickly but goals from Colin and Sam saw us win.”

Three days later, Dundee travelled north and County kept on their winning ways by defeating the second placed side 3-0 with Adams commenting: “That was a really good victory and it was important to win that game for our home fans.  We put on a stylish display that day and showed that we are worthy Champions.”

Last weekend's 1-1 draw down at Morton was secured to stretch their unbeaten run to 32 games and no-one in Dingwall wants that run to end against Hamilton on Saturday.

Adams said: “This will be a great day for the club with a sell-out crowd and then the open top bus tour.  We enjoyed winning the Second Division Championship four years ago but winning the First Division is even better.”

Even better than reaching a Scottish Cup Final in 2010 Adams was asked?  He replied: “Yes, the Scottish Cup Final was a great journey but to win a League of 36 games in a division that is notorious to get out of is a great achievement.”

Adams is not settling for just winning the League and as well as asking his men to complete a run of 34 games undefeated until the end of the season, he has another target in mind as he said: “The biggest winning margin in the First Division was Hibernian with 23 points in season 1998/99.  We are 21 ahead just now and I am thinking that if we win our last two games and Dundee drop some points, we could top that.”

The County Manager was delighted to use the SFL Newsletter as a platform to give out thanks to his backroom staff for their help in their record breaking season.

He said: “I left the club for the six month stint at Hibs in late 2010 and it went through a number of changes after that as my old assistant Craig Brewster, Willie McStay and then Jimmy Calderwood left.  Stuart Balmer had been brought in by Willie to be his Assistant Manager and then Jimmy used him as his First Team Coach.

“I had not worked with Stuart before but I wanted to keep him on as he brought a sense of continuity that would have been missing if an entirely new management team had come in.  He is a great assistant and was a familiar face to the players and someone I did not have to show the ropes as he knew his way about the place.”

Adams added: “We have different styles but they have combined well this season.

“The County backroom staff includes Gordon Connelly, who works as a Matchday Coach and Goalkeeping Coach Gary Watt who works on matchdays and a couple of mornings a week and I am lucky to have these guys about at key times.”

The Victoria Park boss added: “Douglas Sim comes in and works as a matchday physio and he works with our full-time physio Paul Chapel as well as Naim Mohammed who works with us during the week and with Alloa on matchdays."

"Our Club Doctor Mike Hunter is another unsung hero at the club but he is always there when required. We also have an excellent team in Susan Wilson and Roddy McKenzie who look after the players and coaching staff's kit. They have all been a great help to me as well.”

One of the most successful transfers Adams carried out in the summer was to bring Stuart Millar back to the club after a year away where he was the Manager of Clyde before taking on a scouting position with Aberdeen.

Adams said: “Stuart’s title is Chief Scout and Match Assessor and he does a great job in building up a picture of our opponents before we face them.  He was a great help when we came up from the Second Division and made the Scottish Cup Final and I was pleased he came back.

“He always did a great job but he also benefited from his spell at Aberdeen.  We also have Kevin Buckley who watches the opposition ahead of Stuart’s more detailed analysis.”

Adams added: “It sounds like I have a huge backroom staff but some of these guys just come in on matchdays.  Some of them also do it for the good of Ross County and the good of football and we are lucky to have them.”

Finally, Adams praised the Club’s Director of Football, George Adams, who also doubles up as his Dad.

Adams the Manager said: “The Director of Football has been a great help as well and what he does on a day to day basis in helping to run the club takes a lot of pressure away from me.

“His role is more of a continental way of doing things and it is also important to have a football minded voice in meetings about the game.  It is the way forward and I am sure other clubs will follow suit.”