We all know the script with these games by now. St Mirren and cup games against lower league sides are rarely a good match. We struggled to beat Hamilton in the previous round, Ayr turfed us out of the League Cup and we lost to Ross County in last season's League Cup. At least this time around it's at home and on a Saturday, rather than on a Tuesday night or away from home. Hopefully that will work in our favour and we can manage two cup wins over first division sides in the space of a few weeks. Imagine that!
Ross County will hopefully be a bit more attacking than Hamilton were. Billy Reid's defensive brand of football would get the game stopped and his approach to the game was summed up by Accies continuing to sit behind the ball even when they were behind in the replay. County could well do that this time but they've a proven record against SPL sides in recent years - just ask Celtic, Hibs and ourselves - and will be keen to get another scalp. It's also a great chance for them to show everyone that they are ready for the step up to the top league for the first time in their history.
If they do decide to do a Hamilton we have to be ready for that. We must have a plan B if the gaps don't appear, we can't just keep knocking it about and hope that something will eventually happen. We also can't underestimate County just because they're in a lower league. We've been on the receiving end of so many cup shocks (well, they're shocks to everyone else!) that you think we'd have learnt by now but we most certainly have not. We must go at County, cut them open and take our chances when they come along. The fact County have only ever won once in Paisley bodes well - although that was on their last trip almost exactly six years ago!
Tomorrow should finally see the long awaited return of Jim Goodwin. Who knew that when our captain scored that screamer against Motherwell it would be the last time we saw him in action for six weeks? But thanks to his ban for a rather pathetic punch on Steven Jennings and subsequent injury that's exactly what has happened. However, after signing his new contract last week he reckoned he'd be fit for this weekend and will almost certainly come straight back into the side. David Barron is the man most likely to make way.
There will be at least one other change as Dougie Imrie is cup-tied. He's been impressive in his first two games for the club but will sadly be kicking his heels for this one. We simply have to replace him with Nigel Hasselbaink as anything less than two out and out strikers against a lower league side would be inexcusable - and Gary Teale and Aaron Mooy haven't been setting the heather alight in recent weeks either. Play Hasselbaink up front with Steven Thompson and they can work off what Paul McGowan and Graham Carey provide them, with Nigel also adding some much needed pace to the side. The only way Teale or Mooy should start is if they replace Steven Thomson, who deputised for the injured Kenny McLean last week - although Teale could get a start if Graham Carey fails to recover from a knock in time.
A few months after Derek Adams took Ross County to the Scottish Cup final in 2010 - a terrific achievement and something Highland rivals Inverness Caley Thistle have yet to manage - he was linked with the manager's job at Hibs. And he did indeed land a gig at Easter Road - only as assistant to new manager Colin Calderwood. It was an odd move, even if County were struggling in the first division, and he perhaps saw what was in the offing last summer when he returned to Victoria Park. After a slow start County have charged off into the distance and it would take a collapse of Morton-esque proportions - or some problem with their stadium - to stop them strutting their stuff in next season's SPL.
It seems to be a tradition that players cross the Kessock Bridge between County and Caley Thistle on a regular basis. Russell Duncan and Grant Munro did that in the summer, with keeper and midfielder Iain Vigurs Michael Fraser having started his career in the Highland capital. Could you imagine players swapping Rangers or Celtic, or even Saints and Morton, with such regularity? County have usually had the wrong end of the deal in recent years due to Caley Thistle being in the SPL - losing guys like Don Cowie and John Rankin - but they'll be hoping that situation changes if they get promoted.
The prospect of one of our former players coming back to haunt us tomorrow is rather high as County have for players who used to be Buddies. New signing David MacNamee was rather important to us as we may not be here without the cash we got when we punted him and Burton O'Brien to Blackburn 13 years ago. A talented player with injury problems, he signed for County this week having been without a club since the summer. Ironically, their importance to the County side is the inverse of how high profile a part they played during their time in Paisley. Paul Lawson was awful during a loan spell at Saints in 2007 but has matured into a fine midfielder in the SFL. Richard Brittain scored at Ibrox for us but did little else (although he was injured for a large chunk of his two years at Love Street) and is a regular for the Staggies, while Mark Corcoran is used mainly as a sub. On his day he was a superb player and it's five years since he destroyed Motherwell in the Scottish Cup. Hopefully he doesn't plan on turning in another cup performance like that tomorrow!
I'll be honest and say my knowledge of players in the lower leagues has gone down since we were promoted and STV stopped their coverage of the first division. However, due to the fact he's signed for Dundee United for next season, it's fair to say that Michael Gardyne is a handy midfielder. Like Paul McGowan he is proof that there is life after Celtic and will be out to show his future employers what he can do against SPL opposition tomorrow. Colin McMenamin is also a familiar name, having banged in goals for a variety of SFL sides, while Rocco Quinn had a stint at Queen of the South. Scott Boyd is a solid defender, who has played for Livingston and Partick Thistle, with Marc Fitzpatrick providing some SPL experience after nearly a decade at Motherwell - although the midfielder is still only 25.
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