Ross County forward Declan McManus is relishing the busy upcoming schedule as the Staggies aim for success on three domestic fronts.
Along with being three points clear at the top of the Championship, County are aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with a Highland derby victory over Caley Thistle next month, while they also have an IRN-BRU Cup semi final against either Bohemians or East Fife.
Although the games will come thick and fast in the weeks ahead, McManus is pleased the Dingwall men still have plenty to play for at the business end of the campaign.
Former Aberdeen striker McManus said: “We’re battling on three fronts but that’s what we want. We don’t want to be out of cups, sitting mid-table.
“We’re in the IRN-BRU Cup semi-final with the chance to go to the final and win a cup. It’s everything we want and everything we deserve – and we have the players to go and do well on all three fronts.
“The further we go in the Scottish Cup, we’re only going to come up against good teams, big teams probably at some point.
“Even the Challenge Cup, it is a semi-final, the chance to go to a final and win a cup. It’s not the Champions League, but it’s a cup – and there are plenty of players out there who haven’t won a cup in their career.
“It’s a huge thing, but the league speaks for itself.
“We want to win the title and be back up in the top league. That’s what everyone at the club wants, from the chairman down. It’s what everyone here feels we should be doing and we’ll be giving it a right good go.”
County have remained top of the table despite losing their last two league matches against Morton and Queen of the South, although a victory for either Ayr United or Dundee United in tonight’s encounter at Somerset Park encounter will see the Staggies pegged back by the time they host Alloa Athletic tomorrow.
McManus is solely focused on County’s performances in the coming weeks, with the 24-year-old adding: “We’ve had a wee bit of luck in other results, but we’ve never focused on that. We’ve only focused on the fact we let ourselves down in the last couple of weeks. We’ve only looked at how we need to do better.
“Staying top has helped, but we’re focusing on getting the three points at our end and if there’s points dropped elsewhere then all the better.
“We’ll be looking to win every single game. Adding good players, we have a lot of strength in depth and a lot of boys who can cover two or three positions, as I have.
“I think we have everything we need now. We just have to make sure we go into every game at the peak of our powers – and make sure we come away with three points.”
