Ross County’s humbling defeat to Livingston has done nothing to quell Michael Gardyne’s belief the Staggies can compete in the Premiership.
County fell to a crushing 4-1 loss against Livi at Victoria Park, having exited the Betfred Cup with an extra-time loss to Championship side Partick Thistle the previous weekend.
The results have somewhat stalled newly-promoted County’s early season momentum, having recorded a 100% record in the group section of the cup, before claiming four points from their opening two league matches against Hamilton Accies and Hearts.
Winger Gardyne says his side cannot afford to dwell on their last two results, and he said: “It’s been mentioned to me that it’s a bit of a wake-up call, it’s maybe nice to get that so early in the season.
“We have been on this run for the last year and a bit, and this is the first time we’ve had a couple of bad back-to-back defeats.
“It’s all about how we react now, we’re in the Premiership, we’ve fought to be here and we deserve to be here. We need to make sure we’re at it come Saturday.
“If there is anybody having doubts in the dressing room, they can just look back to the first two games for a wee bit of belief if that’s what they need.
“We have shown that we can mix it, but we need to make sure that everybody’s at it. You can’t have two or three players, you need 10 or 11 especially in this league, and especially against teams like Aberdeen.”
The Dons are aiming to return to winning ways after taking one point from their last two league matches against St Mirren and Kilmarnock, however Gardyne is determined to silence an expectant Reds support.
The 33-year-old added: “It’s maybe a good time to play them, but it’s maybe a bad time to get them as well.
“They haven’t had the start they would have wanted, they will want to give someone a doing to pick up their season.
“It’s maybe a good time, but it’s also maybe a bad time to get them where they’ve got a bit of pressure on them. Their fans are expecting them to give Ross County a bit of a doing, but we need to look after ourselves.
“We can’t think about them too much, we’re off the back of a bad performance as well. We need to make sure we get a good week of training and be ready to go for Saturday.”
