Don Cowie has no problem with strong opinion as struggling Ross County face Livi

Don Cowie has no problems with anyone who believes Livingston will overcome his struggling Ross County side in their William Hill Premiership play-off final.

The Staggies finished 11th in the top flight this season and go into the first leg at Almondvale on Thursday night with seven defeats and two draws in their last nine games and trying to beat the drop for the third-successive season.

By contrast, Livingston finished second to Falkirk in the Championship and comfortably beat Partick Thistle 4-0 on aggregate in their semi-final play-off.

County boss Cowie said: “I don’t think, as a footballer, as manager, it’s not about proving people wrong. It’s about proving yourself right.

“The reason we love football is because it allows us all to have our own opinion.

“I will never disagree or object to anyone’s opinion on football.

“That’s why we love it. So if people think that, then that’s their prerogative.

“I don’t think any player or myself needs any more motivation than what’s at stake for this football club, to get ourselves in the right place for it.”

Livingston beat Ross County 3-2 after extra-time in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup in January but Cowie put the game in context, while anticipating a tough two ties.

He said: “We’ve got the history of this season already played against them, but I think their personality has changed slightly since then.

“It was the height of the winter in terms of that game, the pitch wasn’t ideal, so it was quite a physical game, the two teams, whereas now you can see the pitch is perfect.

“Livingston are very comfortable at home on their own surface and like to play football on it.

“I think they’ve got a couple of strings to their bow in terms of the way they can play and we’ve got to be prepared for both of them.

“I think they’ve had a really good season, they pushed Falkirk all the way. Consistent performances from them, consistent team.

“I think they’ve changed, slightly adapted from when they were in the Premiership and I think (manager) David (Martindale) has said that himself in terms of he’s enjoyed being in the Championship, having a real style and clear identity, the way they play and you can see that, they are very comfortable on the ball.

“They’ve got a strong squad. You look at their subs bench, they’ve got really good options there as well.

“So they’ll be feeling confident because they’re in really good form.

“So we’ve got to be aware of that and ready for it, but it’s no different to when we faced Partick two years ago and when we faced Raith last year and they came into it in really good form as well.”