Lennon Wary Of County

03 February 2012 10:38
There is no guarantee that an SPL side will beat one from the SFL anymore.

Danny Lennon knows his St Mirren side will not have a an easy day tomorrow when they welcome Ross County for their fifth round William Hills Scottish Cup tie. County will travel on the back of an 15 game unbeaten run in all competitions. No wonder Lennon is expecting a difficult afternoon. The last time the Dingwall side were beaten was in the Co-operative Insurance Cup when they were beaten 2-0 by Celtic.   Lennon said: "We recognise the threat they pose to our cup aspirations, but we are ready for that challenge and it should be an exciting match. We will have to be at our very best to ensure we reach the next round. I have said to my players there is nothing wrong with dreaming if it inspires you to do better. I would love to win the Scottish Cup with St Mirren and would love to see my players to get their hands on the trophy. It was only two seasons ago that Ross County reached the Scottish Cup final, defeating Celtic on the way. For me they look the most likely team to be promoted from the First Division, they have a five point lead and two games in hand."

Lennon was pleased he still has the same squad as he did in December now that the transfer window has closed. That is not strictly true as St Mirren were the only team in Scotland to spend money on a player, signing Dougie Imrie from Hamilton for £35,000. Lennon said: "We were delighted to go unscathed and in the signing of Dougie Imrie during the window. It shows how difficult things are out there just now, and not just in football, that we were the only team to spend money during January."Lennon will welcome back his captain Jim Goodwin tomorrow after an eight-week spell on the sidelines with a calf injury. Lennon is delighted at the influential midfielder's return and hopes he can inspire the team to a place in the top half of the SPL table. The Buddies manager said:  "Even today at training to get him back amongst things was great. When Jim is there, you know he is there as he is very vocal in the way he goes about his business so it's a massive lift for everyone. Recently results have been a little disappointing but we are still very much competing along with four other sides for a place in the top six."

Source: FOOTYMAD