This is the sort of game we really have to be looking to win if we are serious about making it into the top six. A home game against a newly promoted tea must be turned into three points if we want to better last season's finish. However, County will be looking at this as a real chance to get a victory, so we will hopefully be in for a good game with both sides going for the win. The Staggies' style of play has drawn some criticism in recent years but I was impressed with how they did when they played us in Paisley in the Scottish Cup earlier in the year. They seemed to pass the ball about and with a purpose, the latter being something we struggled to do at times last season.
Our record against Ross County at home is remarkably good, especially when compared to our bad form at Victoria Park. However, they would have doubled their Paisley win tally had it not been for a last minute missed penalty in the cup match. They are a good side who have shown they were more than ready for the step up to the SPL and are certainly not the cannon fodder Dunfermline were last season. So while this is a game we should be looking to win, it's certainly not going to be a doddle.
I seem to have jinxed Lewis Guy after praising him last week as since then he's missed a few chances against Kilmarnock and then been hooked early against Hamilton. Despite that, he'll almost certainly keep his place tomorrow and instead it will be Sam Parkin that makes away to allow Steven Thompson to return. County are fairly solid at the back so having two big strikers seems a silly move. The movement of Guy - and other players like Dougie Imrie and Paul McGowan - should hopefully cause them a few problems.
We're unlikely to see the 3-5-2 we started with on Tuesday return any time soon and I'll be surprised if we don't revert to a 4-4-2 for tomorrow's game. The problem is someone is going to need dropped to allow David Barron or David van Zanten to resume rightback duties. Kenny McLean got subbed at half time against Hamilton and he may be the one that is forced to make way, although I have a hunch it'll probably be Imrie or Graham Carey. McLean and Carey are both struggling with injury so it's possible they may not be fit enough to play anyway. For the second week running Craig Samson is up against one of his former clubs and will be hoping for a more enjoyable afternoon than the one he endured at Rugby Park last Saturday.
It was a case of 40 and out for Ross County last weekend as their terrific record in the league finally came to an end. They'd gone for a year without losing a match (although they had been knocked out of both cups) and you wonder if that run being over will actually be a blessing for them. I have a suspicion that in some of their other games they were more focused on ensuring the record remained intact rather than going for the win. Now they don't have to worry about that and will see a match like this as the ideal place to pick up a victory. In Derek Adams they have a good young manager who was linked with the Saints job a couple of years ago. Adams and County seem to suit each other, maybe because Adams' dad George is still involved with the club!
If you're like me you're always worried when you face a team with one of your former players as he almost guaranteed to score. Unfortunately for us County have three ex Buddies in their squad. The pick of them has to be Richard Brittain, who is currently the Staggies' skipper. He had a couple of years with us, scoring a stunner at Ibrox, but didn't quite seem to be able to cope with the SPL. He's proven since that he clearly has talent and was terrific for County last season. Mark Corcoran flattered to deceive - capable of being anonymous one week and turning in an outstanding performance like the one against Motherwell the next. As opposed to Paul Lawson, who was anonymous for most of his loan spell from Celtic and didn't feature at all for the last few months of it. All three seem to be doing well for County and could harm us tomorrow.
County may have lost the talents of Michael Gardyne and Gary Miller to other SPL clubs over the summer but plenty other members of their title winning squad are more than capable of holding their own in the SPL, even if this is their first shot at it. Iain Vigurs is a terrific midfielder and was attracting interest from a few other clubs, while Colin McMenamin has a terrific goalscoring record at lower league level. Rocco Quinn has also been with a few SFL clubs after numerous loan spells and seems to be happy with his permanent home. Scott Boyd and Stuart Kettlewell are also accomplished while Martin Scott has returned on loan after leaving for Hibs during Colin Calderwood's time in charge at Easter Road. He didn't seem to do well there - but then, who does these days?
It's one of County's other summer signings that will be of most interest to Saints fans. I thought we'd seen the back of Ross Tokely when he finally left Inverness Caley Thistle at the end of last season but sadly he found another SPL club. The Caley Thistle-Ross County rivalry seems rather strange as they seem to swap players on a regular basis. Don Cowie and John Rankin are a couple who have made the move to Inverness before going on to bigger things. County have often been a division lower than their Highland neighbours and as such seem to get the cast offs, like Tokely, Grant Munro and Russell Duncan. Goalie Mark Fraser also had a stint across the Kessock Bridge and while you could class him and the others I've mentioned as rejects, they are more than decent player even if a few are getting on a bit.
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