Ross County defender Keith Watson believes the Staggies have underlined their Championship title credentials with their strong start to the season.
County are a point clear at the top of the table following the opening round of fixtures, with the Dingwall side hosting Morton this weekend.
Experienced defender Watson joined County from St Johnstone in the summer, and having now seen all nine opposing teams in the league the 28-year-old is convinced the squad assembled by co-managers Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson is capable of taking top honours.
Watson said: “Before I came here, I knew the club had a lot of good players. I had played with a lot of the boys previously at different clubs and they spoke highly of it.
“We’ve started the season really strongly. That’s what both managers wanted – to start the season quick.
“Hopefully we can take it game by game and rack up the wins. We needed to start well, given the disappointment of last season. I’ve played in the Championship before with the likes of St Mirren and Hibs and I know it is a difficult league.
“You see relegated teams struggling to get back up. We’ve shown so far we’re capable of it and I feel we have a squad of players who are definitely capable of winning this league.”
Saturday’s opponents Morton are responsible for County’s only league defeat so far, having triumphed 2-1 at Cappielow on August 25, and Watson insists that loss gives the Staggies all the warning they require about Jonatan Johansson’s side.
He added: “We obviously know how difficult a game Morton will be. They’re a good side and we need to be at the top of our game, as we were in our win against Ayr United on Saturday.
“At home, you have teams coming up and having a go and teams sitting in. In the first game here against Alloa it was late before we got the win, but we got there in the end.
“It’s a difficult league, twists and turns, but we just need to concentrate on ourselves and keep making sure we turn in the performances.
“Morton beating us does give us extra incentive to go and beat them this time. I don’t like losing any game and to get them up on our own patch knowing they beat us the last time is a good motivation for the boys.”
Although County have not lost in their last eight matches in all competitions, Watson feels there is still room for improvement, adding: “There’s definitely more to come. We’ve put on a good run of wins recently – Morton was the last time we were beaten.
“We’re hard to beat and we’re scoring goals – strong all over the pitch. We’ve a few injuries in the squad but the boys coming in have been different class, so things are looking good.”
