Ross County manager Jim McIntyre has urged his players to show determination and desire for the big occasion against Aberdeen and Hearts.
The Staggies take on the Dons, who have won nine of their last 10 matches, at Pittodrie tomorrow, before facing the fourth-placed Jambos at Tynecastle on Wednesday.
County have failed to win any of their last four league matches, although they secured a creditable 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox earlier this month.
That was the second draw the Dingwall men have recorded away from home against Rangers, while they also held Hearts to a 0-0 draw at Tynecastle in September.
McIntyre reckons his players relish games against teams at the top of the table, and will not treat the next two matches differently ahead of a run of fixtures against rivals for a top-six place.
McIntyre said: “The one thing we have done away from home against the bigger sides this season is acquit ourselves well.
“We’ve shown it by going away to Hearts and Rangers, even against Celtic at Parkhead where we lost the match 2-0 in December. We want to have that type of performance, with a doggedness about us. We’re going to need that again if we’re going to beat Aberdeen.
“That shows the strength of personality among the players. We don’t have any fear going to these types of places. While we respect where we are going, we also believe we are good enough to perform and pick up the points.
“I don’t think we can look to pass up these next two games and look at the next five, and put them in a different category. We’ve got to try to win our next game and that’s the most important. Aberdeen is a massive game and we want to test ourselves in that atmosphere.
“They’re flying and these are the games the players should want to perform in.”
McIntyre reckons County must sharpen up in both defence and attack to improve their recent poor form, and added: “We can’t keep gifting the type of goals we did in the 2-1 defeat against St Johnstone – both from the second phase from corners. We’ve got to defend better and when opportunities come to make the crucial pass or take a shot, we need to do that.
“We need to do better in both boxes and if we do that, we’ve got a chance. That’s the past two weeks where we have been saying the final part of our game has to be better to put teams under pressure and get the lead. If we keep the work-rate up, it will definitely turn because there is no doubt we have the quality to hurt opponents. We have shown that in the past and we need to do it again. It’s an important next eight games.”
