Ross County manager Jim McIntyre reckons the Staggies must be more ruthless in attack if they are to have a chance of defeating Celtic to reach the League Cup final.
County were paired with the competition holders in Monday’s semi-final draw at Hampden Park, reaching the last four of the tournament for the first time with last month’s 2-1 quarter-final victory against Highland rivals Caley Thistle.
The Dingwall outfit need no reminding of the task that awaits them in order to reach the final, having been defeated 4-1 by the Hoops in Sunday’s Premiership encounter at Victoria Park.
Chances were squandered and McIntyre warned his players must improve in front of goal if they are to realise their cup ambitions.
McIntyre said: “It’s the most difficult tie. The three teams would be looking to avoid Celtic but the one thing we’ve done against them is create opportunities. We’ve got to put them away when we do.
“It’s a fabulous game to look forward to. It’s one we want to test ourselves in and we won’t be going there fearful. We’ll be trying to win the match.
“This is why we play football, to play in big games, and it has to be embraced. We’ll go into the game as underdogs but there are always surprise stories from underdogs and we believe we can win the match.”
County must wait nearly three months for the fixture, with the semi-final tie to be played on either January 30 or January 31.
McIntyre is hoping the scheduling of the fixture is favourable for Staggies supporters making the 360-mile round-trip from Dingwall to Glasgow, and added: “For our supporters it would be great if it was at a normal time and not an early kick-off, but that’s governed by television. We just have to fall in line with that.
“We all know when the semi-finals are, so we forget about it because there’s so much football to be played before then.”
“It would be a better occasion if we get to the final. We just want to play well and win.”