ROSS County boss Jim McIntyre has hit out at claims his Ross County side would carve up a tame draw with Kilmarnock on the final day of the season if it saved both from relegation.
Motherwell currently trail both sides by three points, with an inferior goal difference to both, with two games remaining in this Premiership campaign. Should the Fir Park side lose to St Mirren on Saturday, a point on the final day could be sufficient for both to survive, leading to wild conspiracy theories that there could be a re-run of the World Cup 1982, when West Germany and Austria famously fought out a result that ensured both progressed at the expense of Algeria.
McIntyre laughed off such claims and said they were an insult to his team. "I've never set out a team for a draw," said McIntyre told the BBC. "We set up every game to try to win it and, as professional people, both myself and Gary [Locke, the Kilmarnock manager] will be trying to win.
"I'm not going to have that labelled at my team," he added. "It is easy for people to start making assumptions about what will happen, but football can change in the blink of an eye - players getting sent off, goalkeepers making mistakes. To try to set up for the draw is very difficult. If you sit back off the game, you can find yourself being put under a lot of pressure."
Striker Michael Gardyne, meanwhile, has an extra incentive to get over the line. Currently at the club on-loan from Dundee United, Gardyne has been told he can leave United and could be retained by County, where he has been a huge success. He paid tribute to McIntyre and assistant manager Billy Dodds for keeping the mood high, even after setbacks such as Saturday's defeat to St Mirren.
"I can't sense any nerves in the boys," said the on-loan Dundee United player, ahead of Saturday's meeting with Hamilton. "We need to look at the games and be confident. The management and staff come in on a Monday morning and it's not all doom and gloom. It's all about the next game. We know we can win here and teams don't really like coming up here, which should work in our favour. Hopefully we can keep Ross County in the league and keep the team together."
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