Ross County defender Coll Donaldson believes his side has answered their critics following their Betfred Cup win at Celtic on Sunday.
The Staggies stunned the quadruple-chasing cup holders by ending their 35-game unbeaten run in domestic cup competition with a 2-0 win at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Following a poor 3-1 loss at 10-man Kilmarnock in their last outing, Donaldson believes Sunday’s win has shown the character at the club.
He said: “There is a very good team spirit here, it comes from the management and what they try to instil into us.
“The gaffer was critical of us, but we can take it. We’re all big enough and ugly enough to take it on the chin.
“There are times where managers have a go at their players where it’s not justified, but this time it was because we were not good enough against Kilmarnock.
“When you perform like that, you expect it and we didn’t have a problem with it.
“We are up for the fight and I think that answered a few people’s questions.
“If you’d seen training last week ,you’d have known there was going to be a reaction.”
Donaldson hailed striker Ross Stewart for setting the tone for an excellent away win with his fearless showing against the Hoops defence.
Stewart capped his display by scoring the opener from the spot and Donaldson was delighted to see his team-mate lead by example in Glasgow.
He said: “The way he played is what he has in his locker. I haven’t seen another striker give a back three a going over like that at Celtic Park before.
“You could tell he was bang up for it from the off, he dispossessed Kris Ajer early and that set the tone.
“When you go to these places and have someone like him taking the ball down on the half way line to win a foul, it’s massive for you.
“As a defender that allows you to take a breath, have 30 or 40 seconds with nothing happening to regroup.
“Crouchie put in some shift – he’s got that nickname as a small reference to his frame.”
County’s shock win was no fluke with the Staggies recording a famous win thanks to a disciplined defensive display to go with their clinical finishing and Donaldson believes taking on the Hoops was the perfect game for his side to bounce back to winning ways.
He said: “Celtic was probably the best game for us because there was no pressure, everyone expected us to lose and it was a free hit.
“It was a good one to get our teeth into.
“Celtic are struggling with their own form so we felt the chance was there. The big thing is that when a team is low in confidence you can’t give them any help.
“We have given away too many penalties this season, for example, so we knew we had to be solid.
“That’s what we did, we defended well and got through it.”
