Ross County striker Ross Stewart ready to keep firing in attack
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Ross Stewart feels he is primed to kick on and focus on scoring goals for Ross County again.
The 24-year-old scored both goals for the Staggies as they came from behind to beat Arbroath 2-1 in the Betfred Cup on Tuesday night.
Those were his first strikes since a late equaliser against Kilmarnock two months ago, and his first on Tuesday night was the first time he had scored from open play this season.
There was plenty of speculation over the attacker’s future this summer, with several clubs said to be interested in swooping for the striker, but Ross County consistently said no bid had come in that was anywhere close to their valuation of last season’s joint top scorer.
The transfer window closed at the start of this month with Stewart still in Dingwall though, and now he wants to push on and fire in more goals in the Premiership.
“The window is shut now, and I’m a Ross County player,” Stewart said.
“It doesn’t change anything, my sole focus is still doing well for Ross County, and with the window behind us obviously speculation will go quiet.
“I can just focus now, I got a couple tonight and hopefully I can kick on, have a good couple of months and help us in the league.
“I know myself as a striker I’ve missed a couple and keepers have made some good saves.
“It was nice for that one to hit the back of the net, but as long as the ball is hitting the back of the net – whether it’s me or a team-mate – and we’re winning games, I’m not too fussed. It’s just important that we win.”
It certainly was important that County beat Arbroath, as the three points puts them in the driving seat to top the group, while a defeat would have taken them out of contention.
Arbroath were never going to be easy to beat after winning plaudits for a fifth-place finish in the Championship last season, and Stewart reckons it showed strong mental fortitude for County to come from behind.
“Coming from a goal behind, I thought the boys showed great character to get the two goals and get the win,” he said.
“We knew what Arbroath were going to be, they’re a really good team and they made it difficult for us.
“At half-time we wanted the tempo to be higher, we needed to ask more questions of them. Getting two goals back-to-back, it changes the mindset when you come from being behind to in the lead quite quickly.
“It has been a while since I hit the back of the net, so it’s a nice confidence booster for me and we can look forward to Saturday now.”
