Ross County forward Alex Schalk believes the Staggies are still capable of finishing in the Premiership top six.
The Dutchman helped create history on Wednesday by scoring the decisive goal as County recorded a first win against Hearts at Tynecastle.
Schalk had attended his grandfather’s funeral in Holland the day before the 1-0 victory but flew straight back to Scotland to inspire his side to a first league win of 2017.
Schalk, who also scored the goal that won the 2014 League Cup for the Dingwall side, believes his side can catch Partick Thistle, who occupy sixth spot.
County, sitting in ninth position on 27 points, have six games left before Scotland’s top flight splits- and Schalk doesn’t want to end the campaign in the wrong half of the table.
He said: “We were on a bad run, so beating Hearts was really important for us.
“There was a lot of pressure on us after Hamilton beat Aberdeen on Tuesday and I think we did brilliantly.
“The shape we’re using is working pretty well and we felt we had been a bit unlucky in recent games.
“It was a great feeling to get three points again and hopefully we can now go on a good run. We need to be positive in every game and show our ability.
“We’ve got the ability to finish in the top six, there’s no doubt about that. If you’re on a bad run, the confidence gets low but that happens to every team.
“Beating Hearts was a really good step forward for us and our next few games are all against teams that are competing of the top six.”
The result heaped additional pressure on Hearts head coach Ian Cathro, who has won only four of his 15 games in charge at the Jambos.
Schalk said the Ross County players fed off the unhappy atmosphere inside Tynecastle.
He added: “I noticed it in the first half there was a bit of negative sounds coming from the stands.
“Their results in the last couple of weeks weren’t that good either. We took advantage of that but it’s easy to say that afterwards.
“We managed the game really well after we scored, so I’m delighted.
“It’s an amazing ground with great supporters but we sensed we could try to use it against them.”
