As Hearts, Celtic and Rangers Surge, Other Clubs Struggle

Seems a bit wonky, even by our lofty standards, to focus on a story at the bottom of the Scottish Championship table when the top of the Premiership remains in play.

However, the column is called the FULL Scottish—and even as Hearts continues to lead the top flight with a squad worth roughly one-fifth that of either Celtic or Rangers, based on various estimates, there are relatively well-known clubs in Scotland struggling to get by.

Among them: Ross County.

A fixture in the Premiership for much of the 2010s, the Staggies now find themselves struggling to stay in the second tier. As of this writing, the Highlands club are sitting bottom of the table with 31 points from 34 matches, firmly in a relegation fight with Airdrieonians.

Notably, their rivals, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, are poised to return to the Championship from League One, even as the club has only just recovered from financial issues.

Dingwall Dilemma

The crisis in Dingwall has club officials debating drastic measures to ensure the club’s long-term stability.

“Everyone would agree we are over-subscribed with players, because we’re always gambling on that one more player making a difference,” club chief executive Steven Ferguson told supporters during a Q&A session at the Global Energy Stadium earlier this week.

Instead of spending money on players recruited from outside the club, Ross County are looking at a model that gives young players groomed in their academy a clearer pathway to the first team.

“[One] way [to do that] is having a minimum number of players in our matchday squad of 20,” Ferguson explained during the Q&A. “We can put the boundaries in and if the manager knows those are the expectations of the football club, they can’t complain. We want to have a pathway.”

Currently, the manager’s chair is occupied by Stuart Kettlewell, who left Motherwell last year after facing online harassment from Steelmen supporters and had a short stint at Kilmarnock before landing in Dingwall in December.

Kettlewell made nearly 150 appearances for the Staggies as a player and doesn’t plan on jumping ship even if the side are relegated to League One.

Developing young players, and relying on them to move the club forward, sounds nice and all—but is it a viable way to get back to what Ferguson describes as the “holy grail” of the Premiership?

Keep in mind, clubs currently in the top flight—Celtic among them—have struggled to develop first-team-quality players in recent seasons, even with far more resources at their disposal. Can the Staggies buck that trend?