Ross County wing back George Harmon not bothered about making his own headlines as long as Staggies avoid a third Premiership relegation play-off in-a-row
George Harmon is no stranger to coming up trumps in big moments for Ross County.
In his three years since moving north to Dingwall, he has been celebrated in moments like the winner away at Kilmarnock earlier this season, the second goal in the Staggies’ first ever victory over Rangers, and the legendary comeback against Partick Thistle in the play-off two years ago.
The next week will provide plenty more of those occasions for County to have to deal with.
A trip to St Johnstone tomorrow could see either the Perth side relegated from the Premiership, or County’s lead over the automatic drop zone cut to three points with two matches left to play.
Should results go County’s way this weekend, they could then secure top flight football for another season on Wednesday night at Dundee – or the battle to avoid the drop could go down to the final game of the season next Sunday.
Given his past, it would almost feel appropriate if Harmon was able to have some sort of decisive say in those fixtures, but he will only be focused on helping the team get over the line rather than claiming individual headlines.
“I think there’s probably a little bit of luck in there,” Harmon reflected.
“I’ve always tried to get into the right areas at the right times, and sometimes the ball has fallen to me. Sometimes I haven’t taken those chances, but at this time of the season in recent years I’ve been able to put the ball away.
“I just need to get into those positions more, and create those opportunities, and more often than not I’d back myself to put at least one chance away.
“To be fair, I’m not bothered who comes up with those big moments, but if I can help the team as best I can that would be perfect. As long as we can score some goals and keep the ball out of our net, that’s all that matters over the next few games.
“It would be less stressful to say the least (if County can avoid a play-off), and it would also be nice to get that extra week off.
“In the last few years we haven’t had as long off as we would have liked, but that’s on us. We needed to stay out of the play-off, and we weren’t able to do that.
“It’s in our hands now, and we need to make sure we do what we can to stay out of the play-offs.”
The experiences Harmon has had in Dingwall over the last three years mean that, even at 24 years old, he could be seen as one of the senior members of the County dressing room.
Even before heading north of the border, Harmon had to deal with being released from a top academy and dropping into part-time football before working his way back up to Scotland’s top flight.
If anything was going to reinforce the idea that the former West Bromwich Albion academy player was no longer a youngster in the squad, it was the arrival of his former Midlands teammate Zac Ashworth on loan in January.
The two played together in the West Brom academy, but with Ashworth two years younger it was Harmon who played more of the mentor role.
“It was nice to have a familiar face when he came in, and Zac’s a really good player,” Harmon said.
“He can operate as a wing back or as a left centre half, so he’s versatile, and it was nice to play with him. I thought we combined well in the first half especially against Hearts, and for most of the game we felt comfortable down that left-hand side.
“It can be difficult for a young player to come up here away from family. It’s a lot different to how life is at home, so it’s good to have familiar faces in the dressing room, and a good group of lads really helps.
“I’m still only 24, so I’m not the oldest player in the dressing room, but because I’ve been here for so long I can almost take some of the lads under my wing.
“It was easy for me to settle in, and I feel like I should give back to the club when a new player comes in and help them settle in as well.
“I’m still living away from home, so even though lads are coming up for the first time I’m in the same boat as them. The lads and this club are the only family I’ve got up here as such.”
Ahead of tomorrow’s crunch tie with St Johnstone, the form book does not make for good reading for Ross County.
As well as their six defeats in-a-row in the Premiership, it has also been six matches without a win for the Staggies against the Perth Saints.
Harmon, though, is determined not to let those records, or the pressure of the situation at hand, prove to be too much going down the A9 tomorrow afternoon.
“I’ve always said that the games outside of the split are so different to games in the split,” he added.
“In the split it’s a lot more cagey, and you’re almost waiting for a mistake while being solid for as long as you can, then attacking at the right moments to push for a goal.
“St Johnstone have had different managers all season. We haven’t picked up as many points as we would have wanted against them, which we have spoken about around those games.
“There’s a frustration there, but it can also give players that extra one per cent to prove St Johnstone wrong and get the three points now.
“That’s what we have to make sure we do on Saturday. You can’t really play the occasion, you just have to play the game.
“It’s the 11 of Ross County against the 11 of St Johnstone, and if you win the majority of one-v-one battles across the pitch then you should have enough to win the game.”
