Staying in Premiership has to be Ross County’s first priority, says Don Cowie amid optimism for 2024/25 Scottish Premiership season
Don Cowie says Ross County must target Premiership safety first and foremost next season.
After securing top flight football for another year in a play-off for the second campaign in-a-row, chief executive Steven Ferguson spoke of his desire to compete in the league, rather than just survive.
Staggies supporters have also painted optimistic pictures ahead of next season, hoping that they can rise up the Premiership standings and challenge for the top six, or maybe even a trophy in one of the cups.
Cowie, though, is not getting carried away with what turned out to be a comfortable play-off triumph over Raith Rovers, saying staying in the league will always be the first priority.
“As always the target is to stay in the league and be part of the Premiership, like it is every year,” he said.
“We also need to look to improve. It’s no secret that the last two seasons have been really close with going through the play-offs, and we have to try and make sure that’s not the case this season.
“We understand the challenges and difficulties that come with playing in the Premiership, but we want to improve for sure.
“Consistency is really key. We showed in the last three months that we could pick up points consistency, and the difference that can make.
“We definitely need to look to improve our away form, it’s no secret that wasn’t good enough last year so we need to be better at that.
“We showed how important it is to pick up three points at home, and what that can do, so we have to try and maintain our home form from the last few months.”
It certainly felt like County had built up momentum before the end of last season, with a particularly strong home record that included victories over Hibernian, Hearts and Rangers.
However, it will be very different circumstances going into a new campaign afresh, rather than battling both against relegation and - as a number of the club’s players alluded to – to earn Cowie the manager’s job on a permanent basis.
Cowie acknowledges that there could be a different atmosphere, but he is hopeful that they will be able to pick up where they left off at the end of the 2023/24 season.
“It’s different because you’ve got a transfer window now that allows you to add to what you’ve got,” he reasoned.
“I’ve got a lot of belief in the players who are at the club already, and I think they showed what they can do over the last three months of last season with the results they achieved.
“Now it’s about trying to build on the momentum that we had. We had incredible support from the fans, and we have to keep their belief, so pre-season is a really important time.
“It’s a short break, and before you know it we’ll be into the League Cup, but it’s about being calm and not signing players for the sake of signing them.
“We have to make sure we’re getting the right players into this football club to take us forward, and I’m excited and looking forward to that side of it.”
