Don Cowie: Ross County facing Celtic is same task Hoops faced against Dortmund

Don Cowie believes the size of Ross County’s task on Sunday is comparable to that which opponents Celtic faced in their chastening visit to Borussia Dortmund.

The Hoops, who have won all eight of their domestic matches this term, suffered their first defeat of the campaign when they were hammered 7-1 by last season’s finalists in their Champions League encounter in Germany on Tuesday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side will be hoping to get back on track when they return to William Hill Premiership action this weekend away to a County side assembled on a small fraction of Celtic’s budget.

“Celtic will be disappointed with the result on Tuesday but they were up against top quality opposition, the Champions League finalists last season, and when you don’t quite get it right, top teams punish you,” said Staggies boss Cowie.

“When you compare it to ourselves facing a team like Celtic, it’s very similar to what Celtic were facing on Tuesday, a team with a massive budget and real quality. That’s the challenge we face on Sunday.”

County have lost only two of their seven league matches so far this season and Cowie is heartened by their form ahead of the visit of the defending champions.

“Bar one game against Rangers, where we held our hands up and said it wasn’t acceptable, we’ve been extremely competitive against every team,” he said.

“We’ve been beaten by the odd goal in one game against Aberdeen but apart from the Rangers game we’re making it extremely difficult for every team we come up against.

“It also helps that we’re at home because we’ve been really strong at home. The form’s been really good here, we’ve proven we can beat pretty much everyone at home, some of the biggest clubs in the country.

“It doesn’t mean we’re just going to step out and do it again on Sunday, but we have to take real confidence and belief from that.”