'We’ll need the fans again': Don Cowie hails Ross County support after victory over Hearts

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie hailed the impact the club’s supporters had in their 2-1 win against Hearts and insisted they will have a vital role to play in the Premiership run-in.

The Staggies came under late pressure from their visitors in Dingwall after Simon Murray had given them a two-goal advantage.

Yutaro Oda pulled one back in stoppage time after a long period of pressure but County held out for the three points, much to the delight of their fans.

“They are so important,” Cowie stressed.

“You’re standing there, and you see the other team starting to pile bodies forward, but you could tell the fans realised how important they were at that stage.

“That’s valuable for us going forward and you could see that today, so I’m really happy about that.

“It’s crucial, and we need to stick together.

“I’ve said all along that this is about us being together as a group, and that’s not just about the players but the fans too.

“This is a club that has done what it has by sticking together through tough periods and we’re going to need the fans again as the season goes on.”

Going into the match, Hearts had lost just one match in their last 16.

With County having now put a second blemish on their record since mid-December, the hard work begins again at Tynecastle to produce a similarly strong end to the season.

Naismith acknowledged their performance in Dingwall was not good enough as they could have continued their march to third in the table.

“I thought we lacked a bit of urgency in our press,” he explained.

“A couple of their players drifted into positions that were causing us problems so I simplified it a wee bit.

“For most of the game, they had two or three chances that came from our poor defending, but after we tweaked it we dominated the game and did everything but score.

“This game was a missed opportunity. We could have played better in both boxes, which would have given us a better chance of a win.

“The sign of a good team is that these runs become normal, so we will use the international break to refresh and hopefully get back to winning ways.”