Ross County forward Ross Stewart is determined to capitalise on Rangers’ fragility in Sunday’s Victoria Park encounter.
The Staggies host a Gers side who have endured a miserable week, with Steven Gerrard’s men exiting the Scottish Cup away to Hearts last Saturday before losing 1-0 at home to Hamilton Accies on Wednesday to leave them 13 points behind Premiership leaders Celtic.
Stewart made his return to action in County’s 4-1 loss to Motherwell on Wednesday, with the 11-goal attacker playing the last 23 minutes as a substitute following two months out with a hamstring injury.
Stewart is now vying for a starting place in Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell’s side, and the 23-year-old is eager to to turn up the heat on the Ibrox outfit.
Stewart said: “Results haven’t gone the way they have wanted so we have to put pressure on them and see how they cope and hopefully by doing those things we can come away with a result.
“It definitely gives us belief. Being at home anyway we would back ourselves to go into the game and get something. We will put a plan in place so that when we are ready we can try to get something from the game.
“We need to set the tone early. That is something we have to look to do. We want the crowd on our side and create an atmosphere that players can buzz off. That always helps. Starting the game in the right way will go a long way.
“We will go in with our game plan. If we can get on top and their fans turn then that can only be good for us.”
County are looking to bounce back from their loss to Well, in which Stewart felt the Staggies squandered their early lead too easily.
He added: “It was disappointing the way that we lost. When we took the lead in game we needed to make it harder for them to get in. It is a hard one to put my finger on – we just weren’t as good as Motherwell were.
“We will probably do a bit of video on it and look at the goals, but we have this game at the weekend so we need to put it behind us and look forward. With results going the way we have we know it is going to be really tough. It will be a tough game at the weekend.”
Hamilton’s victory at Ibrox tightened up the standings at the bottom of the table, with the 11th-placed Lanarkshire side now five points behind County.
Stewart is intent on extending that gap, adding: “It is a dog-fight. This league is really tough home and away. Hamilton had a great win and every team down there is looking to do the same. We have to try and get away form the bottom two teams as much as we can.”
