Ross County manager Jim McIntyre says his side must confront the reality they are firmly in a Premiership relegation dogfight ahead of tonight’s game against Dundee.
County’s 2-1 defeat by Partick Thistle at Firhill on Saturday ended the Staggies’ top-six hopes and left the Highlanders only three points ahead of bottom-placed rivals Caley Thistle.
The Dingwall men have won only one of their nine league matches in 2017, and with their target of a top-half finish unfulfilled, McIntyre says his side must quickly return to winning ways to stave off the threat of relegation to the Championship.
McIntyre said: “We are hurting. We knew Saturday was our last chance to try and get into the top six. That has gone now, so for us it is about making sure we don’t get dragged more into the dogfight. We are in it right now. We need to win games.
“This a massive game for both clubs and it will be like that for all the teams from seventh spot down. They really are six-pointers now. We have a chance, being at home, where we have not done as well this season. It is up to us. We know we are facing a team desperate to get over what was a sore night for them on Friday.
“Results like that happen once in a blue moon and generally the team that has happened to comes out fighting and I am sure that’s what we will face, a really determined Dundee side. Equally, they will be facing the same.”
McIntyre, who will be without defender Paul Quinn for tonight’s game, says his side must sharpen up in both defence and attack but he has no complaints over the application of his players, adding: “It’s clear for all to see due to how close the games have been, that tells us there is nothing much in it in terms of goal attempts and possession stats and the like.
“It’s even in many of the games and in some we have more. It boils down to what we do in both boxes. It will always come down to that in football.
“We are organised and know what our jobs are within the team but we, collectively, need to do our jobs better. Whether that’s putting the ball in the net or making sure we don’t make individual mistakes.
“The players could certainly not work any harder than they are working but we can certainly have better concentration levels. We are trying to free the players up, to express themselves and keep making sure they are doing the right things and getting into the right areas and it will come.
“As a group, we have underperformed at times this season. We need to make sure we get back to being that ruthless side.”
