Ross Callachan has taken note of Hearts’ strong start to the season but he sees no reason why Ross County cannot claim their first win of the season against his former club.
The Jambos have made a strong start to the campaign following their promotion from the Championship, with Robbie Neilson’s men sitting third and still undefeated.
County are still searching for a first league victory under Malky Mackay, having taken two points from their opening five matches.
With the Staggies returning to Dingwall for the first time in nearly a month, Callachan, who spent a season at Tynecastle after joining from Raith Rovers in 2017, hopes to make home advantage count.
Callachan said: “We need to go into every game believing we can win. I don’t see why we can’t do that.
“It’s obviously going to be a tough game. Hearts have got a really good squad and they have had a right good start to the season with a bit of momentum. Hopefully we can stop that.
“Home games can be massive. You want to make it as difficult for the opposition as you can.
“We need to make it a hard place to come.”
Callachan is among 12 new faces at Victoria Park this season, having joined from Hamilton Accies during the summer.
Despite failing to record a victory so far, the 28-year-old feels the new-look squad is showing encouraging signs for the season ahead.
He added: “There are a lot of new players here, but it just happens in time. It’s been a tough start to the season, but there are no easy games in the league.
“We just happen to have had a couple of the big teams in a row, but that’s football.
“The boys are gelling really well and I think we have shown that with some good performances.
“We just need to learn the things we can do better and keep repeating the things we are doing well.
“We have put in a couple of good performances. On another day we could have beaten Aberdeen, and we created chances against Celtic.
“I felt we probably deserved more on the day. We were pretty solid in our shape, I know we lost three goals but until they scored we were happy. We could have scored first which would have been massive for us.
“We have shown we can go to Celtic Park and create chances against one of the best teams in the league.
“It just didn’t happen on the day, but there are definitely positives to take.”
As well as being a former player, Callachan has an emotional tie to Hearts having supported the Edinburgh club when he was growing up.
Callachan, who scored against the Jambos in his third game for St Johnstone after leaving the capital club in 2018, insists he is as determined as anyone else to halt their strong start to the campaign.
He added: “I used to go to the games with my brother when I was younger, and I used to play for them.
“That was brilliant, being a fan and then playing with the club, but now I’m a Ross County player and I want to beat them. That doesn’t change no matter who we play.”