Don Cowie appointed Head of Profesional Programme

Ross County Football Club are delighted to announce the appointment of Don Cowie as Head of Professional Programme.

The appointment marks a significant enhancement of the investment in our player development strategy.

Having worked his way up through the full Ross County academy system, Don Cowie went on to make over 190 appearances for the first team over two spells.

As well as those successful spells with the Staggies, Cowie also played for Inverness CT and Heart of Midlothian.

Cowie earned himself a move south to play in England with Watford, Cardiff and Wigan respectively – reaching the highest level of English Football, the Premier League, as well as a major final in 2012.

Cowie also represented Scotland, reaching ten caps for his country while amassing over 530 career appearances.

More recently, Don Cowie was manager of Ross County and during that spell handed debuts to several youth prospects, including Andrew Macleod, George Robesten, Joe Coyle and Copeland Thain.

Prior to his management stint, Don Cowie held several coaching roles with the club, including assistant manager, first team coach, and under-18s coach.

Don, who is a UEFA Pro License holder, will focus on the Club Academy Scotland criteria of the Professional Players Programme – an integral part of the club's player development pathway and strategy.

Don will hold responsibility for the top end of our academy, including our young professionals and apprentices.

On the appointment of Don, Football Development Director, Campbell Money said: “Don Cowie is the exemplar role model for all young professionals in the game.

"Don has had a fantastic playing career, which stemmed from his time right here in Dingwall – that didn’t come from just his talent alone, he worked incredibly hard on fitness, attitude, and the off-pitch elements which matter so much in the game.

“I can’t think of anyone better to come in and work closely with our youngsters.

"Don will guide them and help them explore every area as to how they develop their game to ultimately become ready to play for our first team.

“With such a strong playing background and a very impressive coaching career to date, we are all delighted to have Don on board.

“I believe that Don's appointment, aligned with Gordon Duff in his role as Head of Youth Programme and Ryan Farquhar in his role as Head of Children's Programme, gives Ross County's Academy a really strong and sound base across all the age levels, and I’m really excited to see the development of our young talent at the club.”

Picture (c) Ken MacPherson.