Malky Mackay hopes forward Jordan White will feel a surge in confidence from netting in his last outing against Rangers.
White came off the bench to score his third goal of the season with a well-composed finish, albeit a consolation, in the 4-2 loss at Ibrox on November 7.
It followed a difficult spell for White, who had gone eight matches without scoring – during which time he also missed a penalty against Livingston.
Mackay has been pleased with White’s attacking contribution, but has challenged him to show more predatory instincts inside the box.
The Staggies boss hopes White can kick on from his latest strike.
He said: “Jordan has done a power of work this season for us. On his day, when he concentrates on how he holds in and gives centre-backs tough times, he’s as good a man up there as there is in this division.
“What he’s got to do more is get himself in that six-yard box and be a bit more selfish.
“He’s had a couple of half-chances, and a couple of great chances in the games.
“Looking at the goal he scored at Ibrox, it wasn’t just a one-on-one. It was a fabulous slide pass from Harry Paton and a really good run and terrific finish from Jordan.
“He’s one of the leaders here, and he’s one of the guys that’s very vocal in training and the debriefs.
“He has thrown his heart and soul into this project, so I’ve got great want for him to do well.”
‘World class basics’ hold key to Staggies’ results
County’s loss to Rangers left them four points adrift of Dundee at the foot of the Premiership.
Although Mackay has been encouraged by recent displays, he feels sharpening up the basic elements of the game will hold the key to results in the coming weeks.
He added: “I was coming back up the road from Rangers and I was listening to The High Performance Podcast. Ian McGeechan was on it talking about world class basics.
“It’s a great phrase – can you do the basics really well? There were things against Rangers I thought we could have done better, and there were things I thought we did okay on.
“I was talking to the staff about looking at it in phases with this group of people we’ve got together.
“That first phase is bedding them in to how I want them to play, and the structure that’s needed for that to happen. How we train, how we actually play the game and what’s needed to do that.
“If you get the basics right as well though, and you do that regularly and consistently, then you become excellent.
“That’s the kind of thing we were talking about.”
Wednesday’s home game against Hibernian marks the start of 10 matches prior to the winter break on January 2, and Mackay aims to have his players ready for the busy schedule.
He added: “We told them to go and see their families, because December is going to be mental.
“Once they came back, we did some really tough training sessions, before resetting into the zone going into the Hibs game.
“Coming up, it’s going to be wrapping people up in cotton wool between games. There will not be a lot of training going on.”
