Motherwell will be tough ask despite loss of Tony Watt, says Ross County manager Malky Mackay
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Malky Mackay has said he does not care about Tony Watt leaving Motherwell, as his focus is on Ross County.
The Steelmen make the trip up to Dingwall tonight in each side’s first match back after the winter break, but the visitors will be without the Premiership’s top scorer Watt as he completed a move to Dundee United yesterday.
While his absence will be a boost for the Staggies, Motherwell have very capable alternatives such as Kevin Van Veen and Kaiyne Woolery, so Mackay is still expecting a tough evening.
“He’s the top goalscorer in the division, so that’s an obvious loss for the club,” Mackay reasoned.
“What it does mean is that other players get to step up. Woolery and Van Veen have been terrific this season.
“They showed in the last game when Watt was on the bench that they’re in a way of playing.
“Graham has got a team going there, and it’s not a one-man band.
“Obviously if you lose your number one striker, as a whole you’ve got to look at that and say that’s slightly debilitating.
“For Tuesday night, we’ve got a tough team coming up, a team that are on the crest of a wave over the last couple of months and have been very confident.
“It will be a tough one for us on Tuesday night, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
While Motherwell fans may well be hurting after losing a player who has played so well this season, Mackay is not allowing himself or County’s players to think the task at hand will be an easier one.
Instead he is trying to focus on what they need to do to claim three points.
“I don’t look too much into it, and I really don’t care to be honest,” he said.
“I know that we’re not taking them lightly.
“If you look at where they are in the league and where we are in the league, we’ve got a tough task on our hands.
“We’ve got to make sure we win our battles all over the pitch, and if we do that we’ve got a chance.”
