Ross County closing in on perfect formula, says goalkeeper
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Ross Laidlaw believes Ross County are getting closer to finding the right formula to start keeping more clean sheets.
The Staggies have conceded the most goals in the Premiership at 53 from their 28 matches, with just one clean sheet in their last 14 games across all competitions.
Manager John Hughes has been in charge for the last 10 of those, but Laidlaw is seeing signs for optimism.
He points to the manner of goals conceded last week against Dundee United – a counter attack and a corner, which were frustrating for their own reasons – as a sign that when County have their shape, they are not easy to break down.
“I think we’re getting closer,” the 28-year-old former Hibernian stopper insisted.
“The goal last weekend was from a counter attack. It’s not like they broke us down, the other one was a set-piece. It’s not like they cut through us loads of times.
“Obviously Shankland got through once or twice – but generally we were okay. Things just aren’t quite going for us in games.
“We need to be more resolute.
“I keep saying it, it’s not just the defence or the goalkeeper that lets in goals.
“It’s the whole team, so as a unit we need to do better together.”
It would be difficult to see a first choice defence from County’s team selections so far this season, with rotation more common under Hughes than it had been under Stuart Kettlewell.
Laidlaw, outside of a short spell earlier this season where he lost his spot to Ross Doohan, seems to have the gloves nailed down.
Ahead of him though, Josh Reid has left the club, and Connor Randall, Carl Tremarco and Callum Morris have had injuries.
Coll Donaldson seems to have fallen out of favour, while Alex Iacovitti has been dropped in recent weeks, with loanee Leo Hjelde coming into the side along with Jason Naismith.
Usually the backline is not something a manager wants to chop and change too much, to allow the players involved to build a solid understanding, and Laidlaw hopes to see some stability ahead of him in the weeks to come.
“You want to get used to the same working relationships,” Laidlaw admitted.
“It has been hard for the manager, because there have been mistakes or soft goals given away, so he’s trying to get that foundation that we can build from, but we’ve not been able to get the right formula yet.
“We are leaving ourselves a wee bit more open than we maybe would have at the start of the season because we need points.
“It’s not great if the team is changing in front of you every week, or if the system is changing. If we get a clean sheet, we need to stick with that for a few weeks.”
