Tough ask for Ross County to upset relentless Rangers in Dingwall on Sunday
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After revelling in the success of last weekend’s Betfred Cup triumph over Celtic, Ross County start from square one again when they face Rangers in the Premiership on Sunday.
The scenario feels quite different than it might have done a week ago, with the Staggies now possessing sky-high confidence and a legitimate belief that they can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the country.
Rangers will provide formidable opposition in Dingwall though, with the Ibrox outfit only dropping points in two of their 15 league games so far this season, remaining unbeaten.
So while Kettlewell would love to complete a double over the Glasgow giants inside a week, he knows it is no easy task facing his squad.
“I would love to sit here and say it’s an easy task that we face on Sunday, but we all know that it’s a mammoth one,” Kettlewell said.
“Seeing how Rangers rotated their squad on Sunday – some lads who haven’t played as much got their opportunity, and they still won.
“It’s a huge task for us, let’s not kid ourselves.
“It’s going to be a really tough ask, but I believe in this group and if we acquit ourselves the way that we did at Parkhead, then maybe we can do it again.
“First and foremost, we have to focus on being difficult to play against, and keeping that togetherness, and who knows where that will take us.”
There is always the chance that beating Rangers’ fierce rivals could make them more cautious of County, working against Kettlewell’s men this weekend.
The Staggies boss however does not expect it to have made any difference to Rangers’ approach, considering their domestic dominance this season.
“I watch Rangers on a weekly basis, and they are relentless at the minute,” he added.
“They show every opponent respect, they look as if they prepare exceptionally well for every single game they play in.
“Whether we had beaten Celtic last Sunday or not, you can see quite clearly that they have some goals and demands that have been put on the players.
“We’ve seen no signs of that letting up, so regardless of what happened against Celtic I think we were always in for a tough game against Rangers.
“I don’t know if it will change their mindset, but we will go into the match with greater confidence than we did at Parkhead last Sunday, and we just need to focus on ourselves.
“I said to the players at Parkhead that I was going to learn a lot about them. I felt I did, and it’s another opportunity to learn about ourselves against Rangers.”
