Ross County manager Malky Mackay says the Staggies must back up their promising recent performances by securing an elusive first Premiership win of the season.
County host Hearts on Saturday, having not yet recorded a victory in their opening five matches.
Mackay has been impressed by some of the Staggies’ recent displays against some of the top sides in the country however, which have seen them pick up draws against St Johnstone and Aberdeen.
Although Saturday’s opponents are third in the table and still unbeaten, Mackay knows his side’s wait for a victory must end sooner rather than later.
Mackay said: “We’ve got to win games, without a doubt, but when I look at performances there are situations where I think we could have done better.
“We’ve spoken about it and it has been a tough run of fixtures.
“It was a run that people tipped us to take no points from, to be honest with you.
“But if you look at our performances, we’ve just gone toe-to-toe with Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers and, over the piece, not disgraced ourselves.
“As far as winning games goes, the more we keep doing the correct things – and we’ve done them against the top teams – when we get in among the group of clubs around us, that’s when I really expect us to come to the fore.”
Mackay has previously spoken of his belief in using video analysis to debrief after matches, as part of the Staggies’ preparation for their next match.
Despite County falling to a 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday, Mackay felt there were plenty moments of encouragement which he hopes to carry into this weekend’s match against the Jambos.
Mackay added: “What I’m doing in the debriefs on a Monday morning is showing them the good and the bad and getting them to talk about it.
“It isn’t a name-and-shame, but it becomes self-critique and they end up talking among themselves about what they have just been shown.
“I think that’s the best way, as it is done in other sports. It is established that if you tell someone something, 10% remember three days later, but if you show them it with video it is upwards of 70%.
“That picture is in their minds for the next time they go out and play.
“We had the chat on which parts of the Parkhead performance we could have improved upon, and also the good bits, including the amount of counter-attacks we had and times it broke down on the final pass.
“It is all about having that belief to stick to the gameplan, to keep listening to the way we want them to play to cause the opposition issues.
“Then it is all about the last thing they do being the best thing they do – that final pass or cut-back has to have the correct weight on it
“Whatever you do with it, it has to be the best they can do because we’re getting into the right areas.”
