Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson feels the Staggies can take confidence from their recent form when they return to Premiership action against Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday.
The Staggies took eight points from their last four games prior to the international break which has kept them in fifth place, tied on points with Aberdeen in fourth.
Although County face Celtic, Hibernian and Rangers within the next fortnight, Ferguson is pleased his side are approaching such a difficult run of fixtures on the back of fine recent form.
Ferguson said: “We are on a decent run, but we are not getting carried away, it’s four games of football.
“It’s two wins and two draws, but for a club like us it’s difficult to put four games like that together in the league we are in, against the clubs we are against.
“We come back after this international break and play Celtic, Hibs and Rangers which will not be easy either.
“We will dust ourselves down to meet the next challenge head on.”
Ferguson feels a number of players will benefit from the two week gap between Premiership matches, adding: “We are always asked if the international break comes at a good or bad time.
“Because we have put so much into the last four games, there are guys carrying little knocks and bumps again, so it will probably do those guys no harm in giving them an extra couple of days to recover.
Ferguson says the competitive edge within the Staggies’ squad will give he and fellow co-manager Stuart Kettlewell difficult decisions to make once everybody is fully fit, and he added: “Sometimes if things don’t go your way, and you find yourself falling behind in games, sometimes that can give players excuses. It can give people the opportunity to feel sorry for themselves.
“With the group we have got, in training sometimes the task is trying to settle it down rather than gee it up.
“The players deserve the credit for that. They are a tight group in that they all want the same thing.
“They want to be the ones playing, so if somebody does come off it or isn’t going full hog for 90 minutes, they know there will be somebody chomping at the bit to get that opportunity.
“That in itself brings this environment where we need to go for 90 minutes. To come from behind to get the point against St Johnstone was just another example of that.
“We are pleased, and long may it continue.”
