Battle between on-loan Charlton Athletic stopper Ashley Maynard-Brewer and Ross Laidlaw only helping goalkeeping situation at Ross County, according to manager Malky Mackay
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Malky Mackay says he is pleased with the level of competition his goalkeepers are maintaining for a starting spot.
By and large, on-loan stopper Ashley Maynard-Brewer has been Mackay's first choice between the sticks, but a broken nose he suffered against Rangers meant that his place was taken by Ross Laidlaw against Aberdeen.
The former Hibernian keeper did well, with many fans taking to social media after full time to call him their man of the match in the 1–1 draw.
Mackay is no stranger to seeing such competitiveness play out in front of him, and he feels that battle to be in his 11 every match is helping both glovemen take their games to the next level.
“Great credit to (goalkeeping coach) Scott Thomson for the way he works and drills our goalkeepers," Mackay said.
"We’ve got Ross Munro who sat on the bench the other night, and underneath him is Logan Ross who is doing so well at Lossiemouth. I watch what Scott does with the four of them every day, and he puts a power of work into them.
“Ross Laidlaw has had to sit on the bench and bide his time. He came in for the cup game and then came in the other night and did really well.
“That competition is good. I remember when we got to the Carling Cup final with Cardiff against Liverpool. My goalkeeper at the time for the cup was Tom Heaton, whereas my regular goalkeeper was David Marshall.
“We decided to stick with Tom for the final, which was a big call at the time considering David was doing so well.
“Both of them went on to have great careers at the top level, so I was just lucky at the time I had two good goalkeepers.
“I have got that here and it’s something I wanted. When I came in, we needed to make sure people were pushing each other for that jersey – it should be just like any other jersey on the pitch.
“There should not be a point where people get too comfortable. I’m not saying Ross did that, but I think Ash coming in has made both of them raise their game."
Return to Dens Park
Next up for Ross County is a return to the scene of their first – and still most memorable – Premiership victory of the season when they go on the road to face Dundee away from home.
While the Staggies were taking on Aberdeen, James McPake's men were battling it out in a local derby against Dundee United.
Despite the inevitable inspiration that comes when a local derby is on the agenda, though, Mackay does not expect Dundee to be on the way back down from that hype on Saturday.
“What I noticed was the amount of people in the stadium, I looked behind both goals and they were packed," Mackay said of the Dundee derby.
“It’s great to see – I wouldn’t imagine there will be the same crowd there for our game.
“We just focus on the team we have seen over the last couple of weeks. They have brought a couple of players in to add to their squad, and they have had results as well. We need to make sure we are on our mettle.
"There’s no thought from me at all that they might have taken their foot off the pedal. I don’t think Aberdeen would have felt that about us after the weekend. There’s no way I’d be thinking that about anybody else.
Injury update
Mackay will have close to a full squad to choose from for the trip east.
Late decisions are due to be made on Ashley Maynard-Brewer (broken nose) and Jack Baldwin (knee), but January recruit Kayne Ramsay should be fine after being forced off midweek with an allergic reaction.
“It was incredible – the poor lad started feeling it as he walked out of the tunnel," Mackay explained on Ramsay's situation.
“By half-time there were welts all over his face, he was scratching and itching all through the first-half.
“We could see there was something not right so we got him off at half-time. He will go and see an allergy specialist about that.
“We talked about diet, and he was eating and drinking his normal stuff. He put a bit of deep heat on before the game, but we don’t know. We are just going to have to investigate that.
“He’s back fine again which is the main thing, but at half-time he was looking pretty bad in terms of the welts on his face. We can add that to the list of strange things that have happened at our club.
“Jack extended his knee and just had a little tweak. It was nothing major, but just enough to keep him out for a few days.
“Ash got the nose break, which is still causing him a bit of an issue. He could wear a mask, but it’s more so the breathing, and whether the stability of the cartilage inside means there’s an issue. They will be touch and go for the weekend."
