Time for Ross County to build on a point well made, says Stuart Kettlewell
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STUART Kettlewell is warning Ross County’s players they must build on Saturday’s late salvage act.
The Staggies co-manager was full of praise for the grit and resolve shown in rescuing a point against St Johnstone with Billy Mckay’s late leveller.
Stevie May had fired Saints ahead in a poor first half for the hosts.
“We feel the way they fought to the end shows massive character and shows how much the players care,” Kettlewell said.
“We didn’t see that in the first half. We changed our shape and it was far better in the second half, without ever being pretty. It was never going to be with the overhead conditions. The groundsman did a tremendous job to get the game on.
“In the second half, I felt we were dominant but could have created more chances. Fortunately, we got our rewards in the final moments.
“It gives us a lot of hope, that good feeling of a last-minute goal. But the big thing for us is that we make sure we can look back on it as a valuable point.
“We’re talking about this level of consistency, from winning against Livingston to losing pretty heavily against Hibs.
“At a goal down against St Johnstone, it is probably easy to go under, but the players acted out the message well in the second half.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty and you’ll see many more games like that this season.
“But it’s important you come out on the right side of them.”
Kettlewell has never had any difficulty in summing up the value of former Caley Thistle striker Mckay, with his natural poaching instincts again proving crucial at the weekend.
“He stays between the frame of the goal.
“He’s made a career out of it,” Kettlewell enthused. “You look at the statistics for goals he’s scored in the Premiership and it’s obvious why – he gets into the correct positions and has the composure to finish them off.
“We have to have a better level of performance in the first half to give us a platform to win the game, as opposed to us just salvaging a point.”
