Ross County's Arron Lyall spells out risks of complacency as Staggies set their sights on Premiership return

Press and Journal

8 hours ago

Arron Lyall insists any hint of Ross County slackness will be punished as the Staggies set out to seal the club's immediate return to the Premiership.
The attacking midfielder is one of 11 new arrivals at the Dingwall club and he's relishing this fresh challenge.
The 21-year-old, who had a four-month loan stint at Inverness in 2021 when he was coming through the ranks at Rangers, is delighted to have made the Highlands his base for at least two years.
On Saturday afternoon, County will host Championship rivals Partick Thistle in the Premier Sports Cup, needing three points to get through as Group B winners and into the second round.
They trail Thistle by two points, therefore only a victory will be enough to knock their opponents off top spot.
A stunning 8-0 demolition of League Two Edinburgh City on Tuesday kept County in contention.
Once the dust settles on this final tie, the attention will switch to their pursuit of the title.
Lyall stressed there's no room for complacency – despite the high expectations nationally.
He said: 'When you come down from the top-flight, a lot of teams are expected to go straight back up.
'However, the Championship is a very hard league. I played a lot of games in it over the past two seasons, it is tough.
'We'd like to think we're going to win the league, but we must not expect to win it. We must be focused for every single game.
'If we play to the best of our ability, then we've a really good chance, but any slackness and you will be punished. There are a lot of good teams and good players in the Championship.
'If you're not at the top of your game every game, then you can be punished.'
Lyall had a ball in his year at Morton, impressing Ton boss Dougie Imrie having been on loan at Airdrieonians from Rangers from January to May 2024.
He made 42 appearances for the Cappielow side and walked off with the club's young player of the year prize.
That form was noticed by County manager Don Cowie, who secured his services on a two-year contract on June 21.
Lyall was impressed by Cowie's early bid to sign him as he spelled out the target of getting back to the top-flight in one shot.
He explained: 'I loved my time at Morton. It was great.
'I have such respect for Dougie Imrie, who was brilliant with me last year.
'The gaffer here phoned me quite early in the summer and made it clear a few times what his plans were for this season.
'He didn't mess around and told me what he wanted, and this move was a no-brainer for me.'
Ronan Hale's first competitive hat-trick for County, a Jay Henderson double, a strike from Kieran Phillips and a brace from 16-year-old substitute Joe Coyle buried visitors Edinburgh City in midweek.
County now know a victory against Thistle on Saturday will put them into the second round of the Premier Sports Cup.
That rout came on the back of a 1-0 win at Queen of the South and Lyall explained they've been improving game by game since slipping up away to League Two Stranraer in their first tie in their section.
He said: 'It was good to put on such a good performance on Tuesday, especially in our first home game.
'The Stranraer game especially wasn't great when we drew the game after being 1-0 up and then we lost on penalties.
'We expect better from ourselves, even if it is to grind out a 1-0 win. In the Championship, we might need to do that a few times.
'But Tuesday was more of a show from us. To score eight goals was brilliant.
'I was buzzing for young Joe Coyle to get two and for Ronan Hale to get his first hat-trick in Scotland.'