Jim McIntyre led Ross County to top-flight survival against all the odds two years ago, but the Staggies manager says only a top-six finish will be good enough this season.
County, who have 14 games remaining this term, were six points adrift at the foot of the Premiership at the same stage of the 2014-15 campaign, but 10 wins meant they avoided relegation.
The Dingwall men followed that up by finishing in the top-six for just the second time last season, in a memorable campaign which also saw them lift the League Cup.
Having been knocked out of both cup competitions, the league is the only focus for the Highlanders and McIntyre expects the squad he has assembled to overhaul Kilmarnock, currently a point ahead of them in sixth, to secure a top-half finish.
McIntyre said: “Keeping the team up was a massive achievement from where we were two years ago, but top-six is what we expect now.
“That was our target at the start of the season. Just because we did it the year before doesn’t mean to say it’s going to happen – we’ve got to go and earn it.
“I believe we’ve got a good enough squad to be there. The top six is the target, I’m not going to say I’m happy to be in the Premiership. That’s not good enough.
“After we stayed up, I said the target was to be a top-six side and do better in the cups.
“We’ve not done that this year and top-half is what our main objective is this season.
County secured a top-half place in the last game before the split last term when they defeated Partick Thistle 1-0 at Victoria Park, and McIntyre reckons the race will be closely contested once again.
He added: “I fully expect it to go to the wire, and all the teams will be saying the exact same thing.
“Every team is capable of nabbing that spot because the squads are so tightly matched. It’s about who shows that bit of consistency.
“I don’t think any club has it any tougher than anybody else, we’ve all got top-four sides to play as well as teams around about us. It’s something to look forward to – we want to go and make our mark. Now is the time because there’s no recovery after this.”
