Ross County 3 - 1 Falkirk: County fall in with gospel according to Adams

The 36-year-old can sometimes exhibit a tunnel-visioned determination and ruthless will-to-win in a way that riles referees and raises the hackles of opposition managers.

As Gardyne would have it, though, the public persona of the non-drinking, non-swearing devout Christian who occasionally erupts in the technical area is at odds with reality.

Or, at least, the reality of the man the Ross County players encounter daily.

Certainly, Adams is effective. Since returning from seven months at Hibs, he has impressively picked up the pieces of the brief Willie McStay and Jimmy Calderwood tenures.

Saturday’s authoritative beating of title rivals Falkirk made it 11 league games without defeat and seven straight victories.

With a six-point cushion, the man who helped County reach the 2010 Scottish Cup final now looks capable of guiding them to the SPL.

“I think Derek Adams leaving last season messed things up for us,” Gardyne, scorer of County’s crucial second goal, said.

“We didn’t start this season particularly well, but now we are catching a head of steam and playing superbly. I think it does go to show the influence Derek is having on the team. He is a happy-go-lucky guy and a good manager.

“He brings his attitude into training and the boys buzz off him. You can see that on the pitch as we are playing for each other and playing for him.

“I wish you could come into the dressing-room and see him sometimes.

“He says the right things at the right times. He doesn’t shout or bawl – apart from the odd one at half-time.

“But he knows what to say before the game to get the boys going and make us feel confident.”

Where Adams seemed to have lost some zest for the job before becoming Colin Calderwood’s assistant, Gardyne believes he is now ravenous for the challenge at County.

“It does seem like Derek is a perfect match for the club and was right to come back after Hibs,” the 25-year-old former Celtic player said. “He likes to be the man in control and has come back hungrier, with more desire than he had before. That can only be good for us.”

Mind games were surely at play in midweek in Jackie McNamara’s and Steven Pressley’s depiction of County as the First Division “big-spenders”.

The pressure was certainly on the Dingwall men to underline their football credentials.

Gardyne, though, insists his team can handle anything thrown at them – and do not need mind games to win.

“We were always confident going into the game. Maybe there was more pressure on Falkirk,” he said. “There is confidence throughout the side and no-one took any notice of the off-the-field stuff. We just wanted to go out and put on a performance.”

A 4000-plus crowd saw County come tearing out of the traps. After three minutes, Richard Brittain’s corner was flicked on by defender Scott Boyd for Stuart Kettlewell to bury in front of a jubilant Jail End support. Falkirk were level after just nine minutes. Mark Millar’s curling free-kick was headed back from the corner of the six-yard box by Moroccan Farid El Allagui and there was Murray Wallace to smash home.

After the break, Brittain rattled the Bairns’ crossbar with a 30-yard strike.

When his 25-yard free-kick did the same to the upright a minute later, Gardyne reacted swiftly to tuck away the rebound.

There was tension and ferocious football all the way, but Gardyne’s deflected strike with eight minutes left led to the clincher. The ball spun to the right side of the box, where full-back Gary Miller was placed to rocket a quite superb shot into the roof of the net.

Michael McGovern, Falkirk’s former Ross County goalkeeper, remained buoyant in defeat.

“I didn’t think we were at the races today, especially in the second half,” the 27-year-old Northern Irishman said.

“But it is still early in the season, and we’re not too down. We’ll look at it as a lesson for this young squad and kick on. Ross County may well be favourites now, but things can change quickly in this league.”