Don Cowie believes Ross County’s consistency of selection has helped to ease the pressure on both defence and attack.
A sequence of four victories from their last eight games has given the Staggies a fine chance of making the top-six, ahead of their final pre-split fixture against Aberdeen on Saturday.
A victory for Malky Mackay’s men at Pittodrie, coupled with Hibernian failing to defeat Hearts, would secure the Staggies’ first top-half finish since 2016.
Although Mackay made sweeping changes to County’s squad last summer, the Dingwall side have had a largely settled starting 11 in recent weeks.
Assistant boss Cowie feels continuity within the backline has allowed County’s forward players to express themselves, while the Staggies’ impressive strike rate has also eased the burden on the defence.
He said: “It comes from consistency in terms of team selection.
“At the start of the season we had a lot of new players, and we were trying to bed them together.
“Jack Baldwin came in a bit late, and between him and Alex Iacovitti they have been a mainstay playing in the centre (of defence).
“That’s not to mention Connor Randall and Jake Vokins, who have played a lot of the games at full-back.
“Having that continuity has given us a bit of consistency, and we feel we are a team that can create chances. If we can get goals, then now it doesn’t put the pressure on the defence to not concede.
“I think we’ve shown numerous times this year that, when we concede the first goal, we can turn the game around and get a positive result out of it.
“I saw a league table the other day saying that we were the third best at coming from a losing position, so that is a big pat on the back to the boys.
“If we face a bit of adversity, they respond to it.”
County have no reason to fear crunch Dons match
Cowie says the Staggies’ consistent form should allow them to make the trip to the Granite City with no fear.
He added: “The players have embraced it.
“They could have felt sorry for themselves after that first 10 games where it was a challenge to get a victory.
“They kept working hard and we got a result, and since then we’ve been very consistent.
“We’ve had a couple of games here or there where we would like to have performed a little bit better – off the top of my head, Celtic away is one, but anyone can go there and lose 4–0.
“We lost 2-0 away at Hibs, but apart from that I think we’ve been extremely competitive in every game we’ve played in.
“Any opposition team would echo that and say that they had a tough game.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, but we’re a confident side. Over the last three or four months, we’re one of the form sides in the league, so we will go there thinking we can get a result.”
The Staggies are boosted by the return of David Cancola and Jack Burroughs to full training ahead of the trip to Pittodrie.