Scottish football manager spared axe despite 'deep frustration' as Hearts legend brought in to help

However, changes have been made in his back-room team, with assistants Carl Tremarco and Paul Cowie to leave the Dingwall outfit. Former County boss and Hearts legend John Robertson will be Cowie’s new No 2, with the Staggies pointing to his vast experience in Scottish football as vital for the upcoming campaign.

County’s demotion was confirmed last week when they lost a two-legged play-off with Livingston. They have not won in 11 matches and resultantly drop into the Championship. Cowie was adamant in defeat that he is still the right person to lead the club back to top flight and after a week of talks, owner Roy MacGregor and the Staggies’ hierarchy have given him a vote of confidence.

The addition of Robertson, who had a brief spell in charge of County in 2005, is to support Cowie, who only has one full season under his belt as a manager. The 60-year-old ex-Scotland internationalist was last in the dugout with Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2023 on an interim basis.

A club statement from County read: “Last week's result against Livingston - resulting in us playing in the Championship next season - has left everyone at the club, personally and collectively, hugely disappointed. We know how much playing Premiership football matters to our community, and we share their deep frustration at how the season concluded. 

“As you might imagine, we have done a lot of soul searching at the club over the last week, and following that, have decided to restructure our football management team under Don Cowie as we make gaining immediate promotion our sole focus.

“We believe strongly that we have a dedicated and talented manager in Don and that he is the right man to lead us for the season ahead.

“To support Don, we have appointed the experienced John Robertson as assistant manager with immediate effect. Carl Tremarco and Paul Cowie will leave the club, and we thank them for their efforts and wish them well for the future.

“John has more than 400 games under his belt as a manager, knows the challenge of recruiting from our base in the Highlands, has experience of the Scottish Championship, and has worked with Don in the past.  He already knows the club well and has spent much of last season watching from the sidelines in his role as a BBC pundit.”

County chief executive officer Steven Ferguson added: "Everyone at the club is determined to put us in the best position possible to gain promotion back into the Premiership - and to do so within a season. Bringing John in to support Don, will allow us to reshape the playing squad and turn things around as quickly as possible.”