Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell says the Staggies have the ability to hurt Hearts in Saturday’s Premiership trip to the capital.
Newly-promoted County travel Edinburgh on the back of a strong start to the campaign, recording a 3-0 opening day win over Hamilton Accies on the back of qualifying from their Betfred Cup section.
The Jambos are likely to be backed by a strong crowd for their first home league match of the season, with Tynecastle renowned for its imposing atmosphere.
With County high on confidence, Kettlewell says the prospect of facing Craig Levein’s side should not faze his players.
Kettlewell said: “What can create a problem in the Premiership is not believing in yourself and thinking you’re inferior to your opponent.
“We know we’re going to go and play one of the biggest clubs in the country, at arguably one of the best venues in the country.
“But we still have to go and believe we can play at that level, believe we can take the ball, manage the ball and be creative in possession.
“Ultimately we believe we have players who can hurt Hearts and it’s up to us to make sure they have an influence on the game.”
Having made the step up from the Championship, Kettlewell says the Staggies are well versed on the greater attacking threat they will face from their opponents this season.
He added: “It comes down to the specifics of what we’ve been working on all pre-season, building towards these types of games and this level of opposition.
“That same focus was there at home to Hamilton on Saturday, because we knew they had players that could hurt us if we took a back seat and let them play and feel good about themselves.
“I just don’t think we ever gave them the opportunity to do so.
“That flips now to an away fixture, a slightly different task and approach from ourselves.
“One thing we are going to have to do is defend our goal, we know that. There will be spells when the crowd get behind Hearts and they’re on the ascendancy.
“We have to make sure we’re in a position to deal with that, as a team, not just a back four and a goalkeeper.”
Saturday’s game is likely to come too soon for on-loan Norwich City winger Simon Power, however Kettlewell says the Irishman is progressing well in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
He added: “He is going to be pushed on in his levels, as he says he is feeling much better.
“We looked at it being a slight tweak, rather than a tear. We’re pretty confident we can get him moving along in the next couple of days.
“I think Saturday will come too early, but it’s definitely not at the worst end of the scale it could have been.”
