Ross County’s Jay Henderson eyes Scottish Cup tie at Banks o’ Dee as launchpad for recovery

Jay Henderson believes setting sights on a Scottish Cup run might be just the tonic for Ross County as they head for Banks o’ Dee on Saturday.

The Staggies winger appreciates that Josh Winton and Paul Lawson’s hosts are in fine form, which is the opposite of the form County are in going into this Spain Park third-round tie.

The Dingwall side, whose Championship game at Queen’s Park last Friday was postponed due to a frozen pitch 15 minutes before kick-off, have won just two of the 11 matches since Tony Docherty replaced Don Cowie as the manager in early September.

While they are locked in ninth position in the Championship, they can for one weekend forget their pursuit of points to try to take the Staggies into round four of the cup.

They face a Banks o’ Dee side who are unbeaten since mid-August and in an upbeat mood going into the game.

Henderson, 23, was on loan at Ayr last season, helping the Championship Honest Men reach the fifth round when they lost 1-0 to Premiership opponents Hibs.

In 2022-2023, when he was at St Mirren, Henderson reached the Scottish Cup final as a Caley Thistle loanee, losing to Celtic in the final.

‘Staying positive through hard times’

While such a run would be a dream for County, Henderson knows it’s time for the team to start securing victories to help lift the confidence levels.

He said: “Any win is good for us right now, to pick up momentum. Getting the winning feeling again is the most important thing for a footballer, or a football team.

“It would be great to start that on Saturday then look forward to the Airdrie game in the league next weekend.

“The form and performances haven’t been good enough. We all know that.

“However, the coaching staff including (assistant manager) Callum Davidson and (first-team coach) John Robertson are helping us stay positive through the hard times. Hopefully it can turn.

“Reaching the final with Inverness was a good memory in such a big game.

“Every top club will face ties like this one. The best teams get through them unscathed. That’s what we’re looking for on Saturday.”‘

‘Respect’ shown to Banks o’ Dee

The pressure of chasing league points can be shelved for one week only, but Henderson insists only a strong County display will ensure there are no upsets in Aberdeen.

He said: “The Scottish Cup tie gives us a chance to reset. We can get back to focusing on playing well and hopefully reaching the next round.

“Banks o’ Dee are lower league opposition, but it’s still a tough game. We will give them the respect they deserve, but hopefully we can play well and get through.

“They are sixth in the Highland League, and they will be a decent side.

“We will need to play well on the day.”

County have 12 players unavailable through illness or injury, with hamstring injuries sidelining Akil Wright, Jamie Lindsay, Ross Docherty, Josh Reid and Sean Mackie.

Wright was injured in a 2-0 bounce game win at Dundee United on Tuesday, which was used to top up players’ fitness following the Queen’s Park postponement.

County have not reached beyond this stage of the competition since 2018-2019 when the lost on penalties to Inverness after a 2-2 draw in a replay after winning 2-1 at Motherwell.

[Source: Press and Journal]