Ross County manager Malky Mackay has vowed to keep the Staggies pushing for Premiership points until the end of the season – regardless of what is at stake.
County have moved into sixth place, but are ahead of three teams only by virtue of goal difference.
The Staggies’ next three games away to Celtic, at home to Hearts and at Aberdeen, will determine whether they are able to clinch a first top-half finish since 2016.
Mackay insists his side will be giving it their all to finish with a flourish, whether they succeed in that aim or not.
He said: “I’m very proud of where the players have put themselves.
“We’ve got eight games left though – we haven’t done anything yet.
“My challenge to them now is to make sure they charge right until the last minute of the last game – no matter what that’s for – and prove that we’ve gone through this whole season garnering as many points as we can.”
Mackay is thrilled with the way his side have acquitted themselves to this point, given the competitiveness of this season’s Premiership.
He added: “I knew this was going to be a tough league, and looking at every team – they’re beating everybody.
“Just a couple of weeks ago St Johnstone and Dundee took points off Hearts, who are sitting third in the league.
“You can go back to some of our results as well, but you only need to look at this big pack with a point or two between six or seven teams.
“How this season has gone is amazing.
“There’s also the fact that turnover of jobs is so high, that’s the pressure that’s on people to get results.
“This has been a year where half of the Premiership has had a change of management during the season, but in England it hasn’t been as much, and in England there’s usually more of a turnover than in Scotland.
“That just adds to the toughness of every game you go into.”
County ready for another push
The Staggies did not play on Saturday, with Mackay determined to use the break to his side’s advantage.
He added: “I was delighted to be able to give the staff a couple of days away from this where they could put their phone off and clear their heads.
“Coming back we’ll be dialling it back up, and we’ll be all guns blazing again. It’s the nature of the business we’re in.
“It’s something that I found interesting when I went into the Scottish FA – governance is more 9 to 5, Monday to Friday.
“Going back into club-land, I’m really enjoying the fact that this is 24 hours a day and we’re getting back at 2am and pulling back into the ground at 8am to get ready for the next game.
“That’s the adrenaline and the buzz that makes us nuts enough to actually do this job.”
