Jack Burroughs says Ross County must not allow their early Scottish Cup exit to affect their Premiership campaign.
The Staggies were eliminated from the cup at the fourth round stage, courtesy of a 1-0 defeat to Livingston at Almondvale.
It follows a group stage exit from the League Cup earlier in the season, after County were forced to forfeit their opening two games due to Covid.
County will now be left to focus solely on the league campaign, with 17 matches remaining.
The Dingwall side are 10th in the Premiership, just a point behind St Mirren.
Following a strong recent run of league form, on-loan Coventry City player Burroughs is determined to climb the table.
Burroughs said: “It is bitterly disappointing to get knocked out so early in the cup, that’s what you get when you don’t take your chances. One chance for them and they’ve got a goal and they’re through.
“We’ll learn from that and take it into the game on Wednesday and hopefully score a few goals.
“The games are coming thick and fast now and we have no time to dwell on this result.
“We have to focus on the Dundee United game on Wednesday. We have been on a good run of form.
“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going in the league and climb places and get into the top six.”
Burroughs eager to force way back into regular starting action
Malky Mackay had a number of selection issues for the trip to Livi, with the Staggies boss making six changes from the side which defeated Motherwell last midweek.
That meant a first start since November for midfielder Burroughs, who is eager to push for a more regular spot in the coming weeks.
The 20-year-old added: “It’s been a couple of months or so since my last start. It was the Rangers game I last started.
“I was in the team for the majority of the start of the season so when you get back in it puts a lot of emphasis on making the most of your opportunity.
“There have been some frustrating times recently.
“A couple of boys are in the same boat. It’s a case of trying to take the opportunity when you are given it. We were trying to give the manager a question as to whether he wants to throw us into the league games in the near future.
“There were some tired boys who have not played in a while but hopefully we can push for a start in the league games coming up.
“We’ve got a good squad full of good players. There are no players going into the team who would weaken the side. Even though there were a lot of changes we still had a really strong team who were capable of getting a result.
“It’s a credit to ourselves and the manager that he can trust a lot of people.”
Drysdale will strengthen Staggies’ backline
Burroughs has been joined at Victoria Park by Coventry team-mate Declan Drysdale, who is also loan for the remainder of the campaign.
Scotland under-21 international Burroughs is confident the defender can make a strong impact in the Staggies side.
Burroughs added: “I’ve known Declan for a while now from the youth age at Coventry.
“He has moved in with me in Inverness, so I know him on a personal level as well as a football level.
“He has settled in well, he can bring a lot of composure to the back four and he can make a lot of blocks. He steps in and sprays passes around. He’s definitely a good addition to the team.”
