Ross County defender Paul Quinn reckons Saturday’s Scottish Cup match will be a welcome distraction for the bottom of the league strugglers.
The Dingwall men were beaten 2-1 by St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday when a draw would have moved them off the foot of the Premiership.
The Staggies will travel to take on the Saints again this weekend in the fourth round of the cup and Quinn said: “If we had managed to get the point or win at the weekend that would have taken us off the bottom of the table – then we would have wanted another league game straight away to keep the momentum going. But I think playing in the cup is going to be a good break for us.
“It is an all-or-nothing game – we approach a cup game with a different mentality. It is always a special match and a welcome distraction.
“We will analyse what went wrong on Saturday but there were plenty of positives to take from the match as we created lots of chances and had them pinned back.
“They defended really well, so it is up to us to discover a different way to get in behind them.”
James McFadden and Michael O’Halloran gave St Johnstone victory with two fine goals, although Jake Jervis pulled one back with 15 minutes to go.
Former Doncaster Rovers defender Quinn is confident his side can get their revenge this weekend against Tommy Wright’s men, who are defending the trophy.
He said: “We didn’t start well but we finished strongly. We looked as if we were going to get a second goal and get the draw. They were camped in but they defended really well.
“They dealt with almost everything we threw at them. We have learned a few lessons about ourselves and how we have to approach the game.
“Cup ties are completely different from league games and we will have a go at them next week.”
Quinn warned his team-mates they will have to do a better job of keeping his former Motherwell teammate McFadden quiet.
He added: “He scored one and created the other. He is a class player and I know how good he is. If we can nullify his threat then we can get a result.
“He is one of the best players in the league, so we have to stop him playing. He will still have that class when he is 50.”