IAIN RUSSELL believes Queen of the South’s best chance of sneaking into the Championship title race is to keep flying under the radar.
“We want to go about things quietly and try to stay under the radar rather than make any predictions about this season.
“This will be an open league and Dundee and Morton are the two big favourites as they have the largest squads. We could be in the periphery of it all as it’s more about consolidating this season.
“We don’t need to apply pressure on ourselves as it’s the likes of Dundee, Morton and maybe Falkirk who carry the expectation.”
Russell was deemed surplus to requirements at Livi this summer but has no regrets at being shown the door as it’s allowed him to enjoy a new lease of life at a side that is still enjoying the bounce from last term’s Second Division title success.
He said: “Signing for Queens has been terrific for me after I was told in the summer by Livingston there was nothing there for me.
“Everyone at the club is still buzzing from winning the league last season.
“That winning mentality has remained within the squad even though losing manager Allan Johnston was a blow.
“Apart from Andy Dowie and myself we have more or less the same squad from last season.
“But Jim McIntyre and assistant Gerry McCabe have come in and managed to continue things on from last season.
“They have kept everything positive and the confidence has continued to grow.
“So I was delighted when Queens came in for me and I’ve enjoyed every minute since I signed. I scored my first goal in the win over Dundee and it was great to get off the mark in the first league game.
“There is a good fanbase at Queens and we have gathered a few more fans from the success last season.
“But if we are to get those fans to keep coming back then we need to continue to play attractive attacking football, especially in the games at home.”
The 30-year-old has also turned his attention to a career away from the game as he combines scoring goals with his studies.
He said: “I’m studying sports development at the University of West Scotland in Hamilton and it’s geared towards becoming a PE teacher.
“That’s going to keep me busy for the next few years and it’s been difficult to juggle that with my football. But people at the university have tried to make it easier for me to find a balance and it’s working out great.”