St Johnstone’s revival under Callum Davidson has come as no surprise to Ross County manager Malky Mackay.
Saints have spent large parts of the season at the foot of the Premiership, but leapfrogged Dundee with a fine 2-1 win over Hearts last weekend.
The Perth outfit are now only four points behind County ahead of Saturday’s trip to Dingwall, with just one loss from their last six games.
After Davidson led Saints to a stunning cup double last season, Mackay insists he never doubted their fortunes would turn for the better this term.
Mackay said: “I expect nothing else than a really tough game like I’ve had since I met Callum.
“He has come off the back of an incredible situation last season. It will probably be a long time before that happens again.
“He’s clearly had some challenges this season but if you look at everyone else so have most of the teams.
“They also invested in January and brought in a variety of new players, so it’s a team that has slightly changed from the team we played before Christmas.
“That’s what we’ve got to adapt to.
“I don’t want to see any manager losing their job, especially people that have gone and done well at football clubs.
“Across the world, when the club has decided you are the man, you should be given an opportunity over a number of yours to show what you can do.
“I’m not just talking about Callum, I’m talking generally. That’s good business practice and invariably it works out well for football clubs when they back their manager and allow them the time and opportunity to go and do their job and achieve.”
Staggies all set for final stretch
Mackay is relaxed about the significance of this weekend’s fixture despite the two teams being in such close proximity.
He added: “We haven’t had too many of these periods with some intense fixtures recently, so it’s nice to get the chance to really work with them instead of just managing them between games.
“We’ve still got to play 11 games in the league at this moment, and they’re all important to us.”
Ross Laidlaw will continue in goals for the Staggies, with Ash Maynard-Brewer still recovering from a broken nose.
Mackay added: “Ash went down to Charlton to get his injury looked at, but he’s back up here now.
“He’ll have to bide his time, but he’s come in and been terrific.
“He’ll probably be out for another week.
“We should have one or two on the way back from injury. We’ve got four or five out at the moment, and we’re hoping one or two will be back for Saturday.”
