Ross County attacker Ross Stewart says the Staggies plan to pile the pressure on a fragile Rangers side in Dingwall on Sunday afternoon, as quoted by Not The Old Firm.
The Gers come into the game on a shocking run of form in domestic competition, having dropped points five times in the league since the winter break as well as crashing out of the Scottish Cup to lowly Hearts.
The most recent result was the biggest shock to date, as they succumbed to a 1-0 home defeat to Hamilton Accies.
County are just five points ahead of second-bottom Accies after they suffered a defeat of their own on Wednesday night, losing 4-1 to Motherwell at Fir Park.
Despite that setback, Stewart says County will always back themselves on home turf, especially against a Rangers team who have shown themselves to be vulnerable in recent times.
“We need to make it a battle – press them high, get in their faces and really make it difficult,” he said, as quoted by Not The Old Firm. “Even with the run Rangers are on they’re a really good team.”
“It’s going to be difficult and they’re going to have chances. At the same time, we’ve got to look at how we can hurt them.”
“Results haven’t been going how they’ve been wanting, we’ve got to try and put pressure on them and see how they cope. By doing most of those things, hopefully, we can come away with a result.”
“It [Hamilton’s win at Ibrox] definitely gives you a bit of belief. Being at home we back ourselves to go into the game and get something.”
Verdict
County were soundly beaten by the Steelmen in midweek, but they have every right to see the weekend clash against Rangers as an opportunity.
Every point is likely to be crucial at the bottom end of the table, and two of the teams below them in the league have beaten the Gers in the last week.
From Rangers’ perspective, it’s about getting some pace and precision back into the attacking play, while also shoring up defensively.
Too many mistakes are being made at both ends of the pitch at the minute and standards need to be raised in order to escape the current rut.
Ahead of the game, why not check out our Predicted XI.
