Malky Mackay looking for improvements from Ross County in Dingwall to avoid repeat of Aberdeen drubbing and reach carrot of Hampden semi final
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Ross County manager Malky Mackay knows his side have to do something different – or at least better – to come up with an improved result against Aberdeen on Wednesday night.
The Staggies saw Aberdeen run away from them in the second half of Sunday's league match at Pittodrie, with Mackay left lamenting poor decision making in key moments.
Back in Dingwall this week, though, it will be a different scenario. Under the Global Energy Stadium's lights with a cup semi final at Hampden on the line, there will be an underlying sense of occasion that is difficult to come by a few weeks into the league campaign.
From County's point of view, Mackay is open to making changes both in terms of tactics and personnel, but above all he wants to see improvements made from those who do retain their place in the team to get one over on their latest conquerors.
"If you go out and do the same, you will get the same," Mackay reasoned.
"Aberdeen are a good team who are high on confidence after Sunday. It's one of those bizarre situations where you play the same opponents twice within four days.
"We all know one another, so for us it's about making sure those individual errors are reduced and, if we do that, then I am hoping it will be a much closer game.
"We have just been heavily beaten by Aberdeen, so you move your mindset. We went into that game confidently, but we have to ensure this is a completely different game.
"It really is a chance to redeem ourselves. We have got to show the best versions of ourselves.
"We have done a lot of work on them and they have done a lot of work on us, so we won't see many surprises. We have to just do what we do better than we did and try to negate the strengths of Aberdeen.
"We'll enjoy being back at our home stadium with Aberdeen coming to visit us instead, and it's a quarter final of a cup with the brilliant carrot of Hampden."
With the League Cup quarter final comes the possibility of extra time and penalties.
That has been a familiar sight to the Staggies in recent months, with their last two shoot-outs in Dingwall seeing Kelty Hearts pick up a bonus point in the League Cup group stages – and of course County memorably secure their Premiership status against Partick Thistle in last season's play-off final.
Like back then, County will be practising spot kicks ahead of the Dons' visit, but Mackay knows first hand that replicating the pressure of a shoot-out is easier said than done.
"We'll go through that same routine as the play-off final again, because we're in a one-off shoot-out," he added.
"Recreating a shoot-out isn't an easy thing. I remember a long time ago at Watford, Aidy Boothroyd was the manager and we were going into the play-offs.
"We were already there going into the last league game of the season, and they asked the fans to stay in after full time so that we could take penalties at a goalkeeper with 5000 fans standing behind the goal.
"It was innovative, it was bizarre, but he wanted to try and recreate something like penalties with a crowd there.
"We can go out there in training and put someone in goal, and tell someone to take a penalty, and it's dead easy. If you put 5000 fans behind it, the goal looks miniscule."
