Ross County defender Jack Baldwin says the Staggies must look to start afresh after the international break.
County’s 4-2 defeat to Rangers on Sunday keeps them four points adrift of Dundee at the foot of the Premiership, albeit with a game in hand.
The Staggies face a prolonged wait to get back to action, however, with their next game at home to Hibernian on November 24.
Baldwin says Malky Mackay’s side must use the next fortnight to their advantage in an attempt to return in resurgent fashion later this month.
He said: “The bunch of lads we’ve got in the changing room are talented.
“When we believe in ourselves we can really put in some good performances.
“We showed that at Dundee. We knew going to Ibrox was going to be tough – probably the toughest place in the league to come at the moment.
“But the stats show that we are one of only two teams to score two goals there this season. There are positives to take.
“There are errors and frustrating parts that we can reflect on and really take that belief into our games after the international break.”
Defensive issues a key focus for Staggies
Englishman Baldwin has been a regular at the heart of the Staggies’ backline since his summer move from Bristol Rovers.
Baldwin has stood in as skipper when Keith Watson has been left out of the side in recent weeks.
He accepts a tightening of the defensive unit is required for County to string a run of form together.
He added: “Even the games before the Dundee game, we felt somebody was going to be on the end of a few goals.
“In the games prior to that we’d lost out to sloppy goals that we felt we could eradicate and do better with.
“If we keep taking the positives from each week, I’m sure we’ll gel more as a team. We will be able to see more games out and will be able to get some clean sheets under our belts.
“We can be a really solid team to beat first and foremost. We’ve shown that we can score goals. If we focus on that defensive aspect, it will be onwards and upwards really.”
Baldwin says the scheduling of the Staggies’ fixtures has not been ideal, but he feels the upcoming period before the turn of the year will be crucial in their efforts to climb the table.
The 28-year-old added: “Coming off the back of the Dundee game we were looking at the next fixture. That turned out to be Rangers away, which is always a tough fixture.
“We’ve got to focus on the positives, refresh and recharge the batteries over this next period. We need to really look to come in and hit the ground running until Christmas.”
