Ross County must win and lose together says John Hughes as he made a comparison to Manchester City centre-back John Stones.
The Staggies lost 3-1 to Inverness in the Highland derby on Friday as they were bitterly eliminated from the Scottish Cup. Stones made an error that allowed Poland to score against England last week, but much like the Staggies, Hughes reckons it’s a collective fault as they aim for Scottish Premiership survival.
The Manchester City man made an error. (Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
He explained: “We need to now lick our wounds, have a right good get together ahead of five cup finals, and make sure we are at it. I still think we’ve got enough in that dressing room to make sure we stay in the Premiership. It’s not going to be easy – I have said since I came in it’s going to go right to the wire.
“We have to be more resolute and more demanding of each other than we were, especially in the second half. It’s not so much a soft side, if you’ve got a job to do for the team you have to do it. You can’t let your team-mates down. It’s their job.
“There is no point going in and saying “you, you and you.” We are in a team, we win together. I saw John Stones getting slaughtered for a mistake for England the other night – what about the strikers that put it past the post or over the bar from two yards? We are all in it together – it’s a team game.”
Ross County are sticking together. (Photo by Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Inverness interim manager Neill McCann was thrilled: “I’m delighted; I’m a very, very proud man at the minute. This was a tough game. We knew that John (Hughes) might change his shape and might freshen it up a bit. They’ve got a strong squad, but we were coming in in good form.
“I think there is a belief about the group in what we’re doing at the minute. We’re hard to break down and score against, but when it’s time to attack, I think there’s a wee bit of belief about us.”
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