Preview: Ross County v Hearts

Published on Saturday 29 December 2012 04:44

ROSS County manager Derek Adams has urged his players to complete an Edinburgh double and end the year on a high.

The Highlanders claimed a 1-0 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road on Boxing Day after Richard Brittain grabbed the only goal of the game. County now prepare to welcome the capital city’s other representatives, Hearts, to Dingwall this afternoon as they aim for back-to-back wins.

Adams said: “We were delighted with the win against Hibs. The SPL is a difficult place to play and it was another good performance.

“This time, we got a good bit of fortune in winning the match and I think we deserved it.

“Hearts are a big, physical side and they like to get the ball into the penalty area quite quickly. We noticed that when we went to Tynecastle the last time.

“There were big throws from all areas and we have to deal with that on Saturday. It’s another great game at Victoria Park. I hope we can do the double as it sets us up perfectly for the new year.”

Adams has been more than satisfied so far with County’s first ever season in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

He said: “We’ve had a great start to the SPL. We are 20 games into the SPL campaign and we’re four points off Hearts and six points off Aberdeen. If we had said that at the start of the season, we would all have been delighted.”

Adams’ main aim heading into 2013 is to ensure County remain in the top flight beyond the end of this campaign.

He added: “The 20 games have gone very quickly for us. We are looking forward to the 18 games to go.

“We’ve done a lot of good things but, over a season, it’s good to have victories and draws and enough points to stay in the division.”

Taken from the Scotsman