Ross County manager Malky Mackay can afford himself a wry smile as he looks at the Scottish Premiership table – and so he should.
Wind the clock back to October 27 and the Staggies were preparing to face Dundee at Dens Park in a game between the league’s bottom two sides.
County arrived in the City of Discovery with three points from the opening 10 league matches and still searching for their first win of the campaign.
In the space of 90 minutes that wait for a league win was brought to an end in stunning fashion as the Staggies recorded their biggest ever top-flight victory courtesy of a 5-0 demolition of the Dark Blues.
The win doubled County’s points tally for the season to six but it was clear the Staggies’ road to recovery still have a long way to go.
Despite their impressive first win they were still bottom of the division but boy have things changed since then.
County recovery has been impressive
Saturday marked league match number 30 of the season for County and their 1-0 win against St Mirren took them into the top half of the table.
If there was any doubt of County somehow being dragged back into a dogfight near the bottom of the table then surely the win against the Buddies ended it.
Mackay’s side now lead second bottom St Johnstone by 12 points with only eight games remaining. It would take a remarkable change in fortune from both teams for County to be hauled into the mire at this late stage.
Clearly being written off as relegation certainties to the form team in the race not only for a top six place but also for a European spot is quite the turnaround to put it mildly.
But County deserve that tag. From a three point return from 10 games to 33 points from the next 20 shows the club’s rise up the table has been no fluke.
Sure, there have been setbacks along the way but County’s powers of recovery and resilience have been hugely impressive.
County daring to dream of top six place
The first objective for Staggies chairman Roy MacGregor at the start of every season is to ensure the club is playing top flight football the following year.
MacGregor is an optimistic man at the best of times but seeing where his club is right now has surely exceeded even his lofty ambitions.
After all, every manager and chairman has spent the season telling us this is the most competitive division we’ve had for years in Scottish football.
The big two, Aberdeen, the Edinburgh clubs, the two Dundee sides, County have not only competed against them but are in danger of leaving more than a few of them trailing in their wake.
Securing a top six place remains a tall order but by no means an impossible one for Mackay and his players.
The confidence is flowing and the results are coming. So too are the clean sheets.
Tough pre-split run ahead for the Staggies
With three games to go they will face the league leaders Celtic, host third placed Hearts then travel to Pittodrie to face an Aberdeen team which right now would love to be in County’s position.
Aberdeen will be hoping they can find a spark of their own as they try to make up the four point gap which now stands between them and the underdog Staggies.
But do not be surprised if County have already secured their top six place by then.
After all, if this season has shown us one thing it is that anything is possible in this most remarkable of Premiership campaigns.
