Jack Baldwin is determined to play his part in maintaining Ross County’s form by keeping the ball out of the Staggies’ net.
County go into tonight’s Premiership encounter against Aberdeen aiming to extend a fine recent run of home form, which has seen the Staggies lose one of their last six games in Dingwall.
The Staggies had to dig deep on Saturday, when teenager Matthew Wright’s 95th minute equaliser salvaged a 3-3 draw against Rangers.
Englishman Baldwin, who captained Malky Mackay’s side until skipper Keith Watson was introduced, has made it his aim to keep the goals against column down.
Baldwin said: “We’d like a few more clean sheets, especially as a defender myself.
“It is not an easy place to come. I doubt there are many teams who would come and enjoy a game of football here.
“That works in our favour if we can go and impose ourselves and make it even harder – and make sure they fear coming here for good reason.
“We watched the goals we conceded during our debrief. We decided, as a team, if we’d conceded those goals against any other team in the league we’d have been disappointed – not just Rangers.
“We felt quite disappointed in the manner in which the goals were conceded.
“I think that says a lot about where we are as a group, always striving for better out there.
“If we can make it into even more of a fortress and keep clean sheets at the same time, that will be perfect.”
Late setback against Dons will spur Staggies on
Baldwin will come up against Aberdeen for the second time, having made his Staggies debut when the sides last met in a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie in August.
County had led until a 90th minute Christian Ramirez equaliser, with Baldwin hungry for revenge against the Dons.
The 28-year-old added: “That was my debut game, down at Pittodrie.
“In that first bit of the season, we felt like we owed the whole league one because we created chances and leaked sloppy goals in pretty much every game – and it cost us points.
“We’ve felt like we’ve owed everybody we’ve played since.
“It will be the same against Aberdeen on Tuesday.
“They will be coming here looking to get their own points on the board, but for us we’re in a good position and looking to kick on.
“Down there, we felt disappointed to come away without the win but hopefully that won’t be the case on Tuesday night.”
Staggies players rally behind Charles-Cook
As one of County’s senior figures, Baldwin has been keen to show his support to leading scorer Regan Charles-Cook, who was racially abused following Saturday’s game.
Baldwin added: “It is horrible to hear when he came in and said what had happened.
“We’re such a tight dynamic now that everybody rallies around Regan. We’re continuously offering him our support if needed.
“He’s a strong lad and knows how to deal with it himself – and knows we’re all there for him if needed.
“I think it only makes us stronger as a group.
“We all want to put decent performances in and, if anything, help Regan kick on and score even more goals – and silence the critics that way.
“We’re all there behind him and I believe Police Scotland are dealing with it accordingly.
“We do our job with Regan, support him as much as we can, and let the authorities deal with it appropriately.”