Ross County interim manager Don Cowie expects ‘best version’ of Premiership opponents Hibernian despite Easter Road outfit having nothing left to play for
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Ross County interim manager Don Cowie is not expecting this weekend’s opponents Hibernian to take their foot off the gas whatsoever.
Of all the teams in the Scottish Premiership’s bottom six, Hibs have the least to play for. They are already sitting in seventh position, four points clear of Aberdeen, and mathematically cannot finish in the bottom two.
That said, it certainly did not look like they were on their holidays last weekend, as they defeated St Johnstone 3-1 in the first round of post-split fixtures.
Having already scored six goals in the three games against County so far this season too, Cowie is expecting a tough match, regardless of any perceived difference in stakes for the two clubs.
“I played for Hearts and know the demands which come with playing for one of the big city clubs,” he explained.
“The expectation is to be a top six team and they will be disappointed they haven’t managed to do that, but they are a very dangerous team.
“I saw what they did last Saturday against St Johnstone. We’ve played them three times and they are a team, going forward, who are very exciting.
“They are expansive and have two full-backs that bomb forward as well. They are quite happy to play on the front foot so we are going to have to defend really well.
“I’ve spoken about it time and again, concentration levels have to be at their highest.
“Then, I always believe we have individuals and a group that hurt the opposition. It is about creating that game plan for that to happen.
“They have the disappointment of not making the top six and, more than that, the demand is there at a club like Hibs.
“The expectations of the fans mean they will not be able to coast until the end of the season. Saturday was clear evidence of that so we’ll be expecting the best version of Hibs and a team confident on the back of a very good away performance.”
For County to secure what would be an important three points this weekend, they will most likely have to find a way past David Marshall.
Cowie knows the Hibs goalkeeper well from their time playing together with Cardiff City and Scotland, but the County interim manager hopes his former teammate has an off day in Dingwall on Saturday.
“He’s someone who is having a fantastic career and still going strong,” Cowie said of Marshall.
“He has played pretty much the majority of the season which is testament to him as a person and his professionalism.
“He has real quality and hopefully he doesn’t show that this week.
“We will look to put him under a lot of pressure and take advantage, and try and get the result we believe we can get.”
