Richard Foster ready for boo boys as Ross County face Aberdeen
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RICHARD FOSTER knows, as sure as night follows day, boos will ring out in his direction at Pittodrie today from home supporters with long memories and short fuses.
But the Ross County defender reckons turning those fans against their own team could be key to victory for the visitors.
The 34-year-old right back has long since developed a thick skin to the clamour that follows him to almost every ground in the country these days.
Nowhere, though, is it louder than at Pittodrie, where the Elgin-raised defender made his senior debut almost 17 years ago.
Foster’s sin was to agree to a season-long loan move to Rangers back in 2010/11, before rejoining the Ibrox club for two years after a spell with Bristol City.
Having a cool and sassy pop star wife in Amy Macdonald only seems to increase the spotlight on Foster, who admitted: “To be fair, these days, it getting to be every single stadium I go to!
“Pittodrie is certainly one where they don’t welcome me back with open arms, shall we say.
“At Pittodrie, though, a lot of it tends to be families and kids who’re booing me with big smiles on their faces. It’s kind of light-hearted.
“The heavier stuff tends to come at the night games, with the away support, where they have maybe had a bit to drink.
“There’s a lot of booing and it usually lasts, if I’m playing, for the full 90 minutes, which is quite surprising. You’ve got to commend them for their persistence!
“But that’s just what happens in football, when you leave a club and come back with another team – especially after a couple of spells at Rangers.
“They don’t forget that quickly, but it’s part of the game and you need to deal with it – and I do.
“I wouldn’t say I agree with it, but it is what it is. When it is a collective support booing me on the ball, it doesn’t bother me much.
“It is more the personal insults away from the pitch that I don’t like.”
Foster, though, revels in the challenge of returning to his old haunt, rating the stadium as the toughest in the country to play at after the Old Firm grounds.
Equally, though, he knows just how restless the Dons’ support can become when things fall flat.
He stressed: “I’d say it is the most difficult fixture in the league, setting aside Rangers and Celtic.
“They’re usually quite strong at home. In recent years they’ve certainly had a good support at home.
“That’s the challenge we face, but it is also one where, if you can go there and upset the apple-cart and put them under a bit of early pressure, the fans can get a bit restless.
“It then changes from the fans being on our case to them being on their case.
“That’s something we will look to do on Saturday.”
County, seven days, ago, received a huge shot in the arm, after clawing back a Billy Mckay leveller to earn a late draw against St Johnstone.
The Europa League-chasing Dons earned their own boost in midweek, beating Kilmarnock in extra-time in the Scottish Cup.
Foster believes the natural comedown from midweek exertion and adrenaline can work in County’s favour if they approach the game the right way.
He stressed: “You hope there’s a bit of a hangover. To win the way they did down at Kilmarnock will be a massive high. Then you have the long trip back up to Aberdeen.
“They have now got a game so soon after, but they are professional athletes – they’ll be ready come Saturday.
“They have a big enough squad that they can make changes if the manager chooses to.
“I know it is a cliché, but we really need to focus on what we’re doing and, like I say, try to upset Aberdeen and make it difficult for them.
“Then, if the game isn’t going to plan for them, that’s maybe when the leggy-ness and tiredness comes in.
“But if we go and play like we did at Pittodrie in what was actually my first game back at Ross County, the 3-0 defeat at the end of August, then we’ll give Aberdeen a lift.
“We need to be dogged, defensively sound. We have a lot of players in the squad who can carry a threat going forward and we need to utilise that – and put Aberdeen under pressure.
“That’s when the midweek exertions set in.
“As the management have said, the St Johnstone draw is only a big point for us if we go and collect more points on the road now.
“I know the next few games are going to be exceptionally tough, but there aren’t any easy games in this league.
“We’ve prepared well and hopefully we can get a result.”
