Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson insists his side are underdogs against Hibernian at Easter Road despite the sides’ respective league positions.
County remain in the top half of the Premiership despite last weekend’s 6-0 loss to Celtic, with the Dingwall men sixth in the table.
Hibs, by contrast, are second bottom following a run of eight league matches without a victory, but Ferguson feels Paul Heckingbottom’s men will still be carrying the greater burden of expectation in the capital today.
Ferguson said: “For a club like ours, the difference in size, budget and supporter numbers, it can almost be a polar opposite.
“We need to use that drive to make sure we do upset half of Edinburgh at the weekend and do upset the experts that tell you Hibs should be a home win against Ross County.
“We need to make sure we enjoy that challenge. Anybody at a club like ours will use that underdog tag and the ‘nobody wants us in the league’ idea.
“We don’t quite go down that route, but we do accept we’re a much smaller club than Hibs and we’ll use anything we can to try to turn it in our advantage.
“If we start the game well and give Hibs problems, the pressure on them intensifies.
“We dealt with being the team everyone wanted to beat last season in the Championship.
“We go to Edinburgh on Saturday with a gameplan to take points.”
Ferguson is confident the Staggies players can shake off the disappointment of last weekend’s humiliating Parkhead defeat, adding: “The initial signs are we have parked it and put it to bed.
“We’ve used this week to get it completely out of our system while planning for Hibs.
“Credit to the players – and I wouldn’t expect anything less – they are saying the right things and doing the right things. That gives us a fighting chance.”
Midfielder Ross Draper started for the first time since August against the Hoops after recovering from a knee injury, with Ferguson adding: “That was another huge plus for us. We probably underestimated the challenge it was for Ross on Saturday where he hasn’t played a lot of games.
“For him to go and play 90 minutes and give his all for us, for me it paints Ross in a really good light. It just sums up exactly what he’s about.
“When the chips are down, he’ll not hide – he’ll stand up and be counted.”
