Highlands & Islands

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What did you make of Ross County's performance after two weeks without a competitive fixture? – have your say here.

Ross County manager Derek Adams was delighted with his side's performance and said the game was a "fantastic advert for Scottish football".

"I thought the first five games were risk averse, today we took some major risks and got some really good openings," he tells BBC Scotland

"We scored two goals but over the afternoon we were disappointed not to win the game.

"We were making a double substitution and the game restarted so we missed the opportunity to make two subs. The subs were there and we feel that it was an error. I have spoken to the referee to get more clarity on the situation.

"We just have to take our opportunities when they come along. We played some really good football and entertained the crowd, there were good players on show and I thought over the afternoon it was a fantastic advert for Scottish football.

"I expect another good game [against Aberdeen], it will be toe to toe. Aberdeen have a great travelling support and as always back their team."

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Thomas Duncan, BBC Sport Scotland

After Ross County last played two weeks ago, manager Adams went on a now famous rant about the poor quality of Scottish football, including his own side.

His players responded with an away performance full of energy and skill, as they created chances and had the better of the play for most of the game.

However, the softness of the goals will infuriate the County boss, and his side did not adapt after going 2-0 up, eventually being picked off.

Still, it was a good response to consecutive defeats and a display to build on.

Hearts boss Steven Naismith expects to pick from the same squad he had at his disposal for Wednesday's derby win over Hibernian. Liam Boyce, Jorge Grant and Cammy Devlin remain out.

Ross County are still missing defender Dylan Smith, along with long-term absentees Ross Callachan and Ben Paton.

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• Hearts have won all four of their league meetings with Ross County since the start of last season by an aggregate score of 11-3.

• Ross County have only won one of their last 23 Scottish Premiership meetings with Hearts (D11 L11), and are winless in 13 (D7 L6) since a 1-0 away win in March 2017.

• Excluding years in which they were relegated, Hearts haven’t lost their final Scottish Premiership match of a calendar year since 2016 (1-0 v Aberdeen), and are unbeaten in five such matches since (W3 D2), winning in both 2021 (2-1 v Ross County) and 2022 (3-2 v St Johnstone).

• Ross County have lost their final league match of both of the last two calendar years, defeats to Hearts in 2021 (2-1) and Dundee United in 2022 (3-0).

• Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland has scored five goals in his last six Scottish Premiership appearances against Ross County, including a hat-trick at Tynecastle in April last season.

Ross County travel to Tynecastle on Saturday to face Hearts.

Derek Adams will be wanting a reaction from his players after back-to-back losses.

Who would you pick to start? Tell us here.

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After his recent damning comments, Derek Adams will have the opportunity to improve his Ross County squad in January.

Where should the manager be looking to strengthen? Are there any names you'd like to see arrive in Dingwall?

Get in touch.

Ross County manager Derek Adams is ready to strike a deal to extend the loan terms of AFC Wimbledon defender Will Nightingale. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

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Rangers centre-half Connor Goldson will be assessed after going off with a groin injury late on in the Christmas Eve win away to Motherwell.

The Ibrox side were already without Nico Raskin, Tom Lawrence, Ryan Jack, Borna Barisic, Ben Davies, John Lundstram, Kemar Roofe, Jose Cifuentes and Danilo with various injuries.

Ross County are still missing defender Dylan Smith and long-term absentees Ross Callachan and Ben Paton.

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• Rangers have never lost in 23 previous meetings with Ross County in all competitions (W19 D4), the most they have faced a side in major competitions without ever losing.

• Ross County have lost their last eight successive league visits to Rangers since a 1-1 draw in February 2017.

• Rangers have won all five of their home league games under Philippe Clement by an aggregate score of 13-2, scoring 2+ goals in all five such games.

• Ross County have won just three of their last 20 away games in the Scottish Premiership (D5 L12), and are winless in their last six (D3 L3).

• James Tavernier has either scored (2) or assisted (2) each of Rangers’ last four league goals at Ibrox. Tavernier has both scored and assisted a goal in three of his last four home games in the Scottish Premiership, including both of his last two in a row.

Ross Morren, The County Corner podcast, external

Fans are always disappointed when a match is postponed due to the weather and condition of the pitch.

That disappointment was felt by everyone due to travel to Dingwall on Saturday to watch Ross County take on Hibernian.

This is the fourth match so far this season that The Staggies have had postponed and although County fans may be used to this frustrating occurrence, it’s the first time in several years a match has been postponed due to the condition of the Dingwall pitch.

Previous postponements at the Global Energy Stadium have been due to various circumstances such as severe weather warnings in the local area, Covid outbreaks etc.

Despite the postponement, credit must go to the ground staff at the club who have worked incredibly hard over the years to maintain this impressive record and ensure the playing surface in Dingwall is one of the best in the country. They will have worked incredibly hard to try to make sure the game could go ahead on Saturday - but on this occasion, Mother Nature won.

All eyes were on the match against Hibs to see how Derek Adams’ players would respond following his post-match comments against Dundee. Those eyes will now look to Ibrox.

Ross County have never beaten Rangers in the club’s history. You’d have to go back to February 2017 for the last time County took any points away from Ibrox after an Alex Schalk goal helped County earn a 1-1 draw.

In the seasons following that result, the Staggies have visited Ibrox eight times and lost on every occasion with an aggregate score across those matches of 25-5.

The head-to-head record underlines how tough a task lies ahead for Derek Adams’ side. The players will use the manager's criticism of them as fuel for the upcoming matches to prove him wrong ahead of the winter break.

Who knows? Maybe that extra bit of motivation could help County end their Rangers hoodoo and pick up their first win against the Ibrox side. Stranger things have happened in football!

After defeats to St Mirren and Dundee, Derek Adams' side will be looking to get back on track - but face a tough test against Rangers at Ibrox.

Would you change the starting XI?

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What do you make of Derek Adams' recent criticism of the Scottish game? What business can he do in January? And are you worried about the County fixture buildup? – have your say here.