Ross County forward Ross Stewart feels the Staggies’ victory over St Johnstone has teed them up for a crack at the league’s high-flying sides.
County defeated St Johnstone 1-0 at McDiarmid Park on Saturday, thanks to Iain Vigurs’ first-half free-kick.
The result ended a five-match sequence without a win for Stuart Kettlewell’s men, which had stretched back to the 1-0 victory over Hamilton Accies on August 8.
In their next three league fixtures, County host Aberdeen on Sunday before travelling to face Rangers the following Friday. The Dingwall men then play Hibernian at home later in the month.
Stewart feels his side can approach the upcoming challenges with confidence.
He said: “It has obviously been a wee while since we got a win. It was something we spoke about before the game, to try and break the wee duck we were in.
“We were never concerned, but to come here, win 1-0 and get the clean sheet sets us up nicely.
“We knew the tough run coming up, but I wouldn’t say it was more important to win this one.
“We go into every game wanting to win every game we play in, and this one was no different.
“With a tough run of fixtures, it sets us up really well.”
Stewart felt his side showed strong resilience to claim the victory, following his side’s 5-0 loss to Celtic the previous week.
The 24-year-old added: “We know what we’ve got in that dressing room. Last week was disappointing in terms of the scoreline, but we felt there were a lot of positives we could take from it.
“This was always going to be a different kind of game, but I thought in spells we showed that bit of quality we have.
“After losing five goals last week, keeping a clean sheet was something we talked about so to get that was really pleasing.
“From front to back, everybody knows what is required of them defensively without the ball.”
Stewart is encouraged by his side’s early away form this term, adding: “We only won away from twice away from home last year. It’s something the manager has spoken about.
“This was our second win away from home this season, so that certainly shows progress.
“We’ve got to take confidence from that and build on it, and believe going away from home we are good enough to get results.
“That’s never going to be easy. To get wins any way you can is huge, and we got this one off the back of a really good defensive performance.”
