Jack Baldwin is confident incoming players will settle seamlessly into Ross County’s squad dynamic.
County boss Malky Mackay has made seven summer additions and, despite revealing the bulk of his recruitment is complete, he remains keen to add further to his pool.
Ben Purrington, Jordy Hiwula, Owura Edwards and Kazeem Olaigbe were added last week, following on from the additions of Victor Loturi, Yan Dhanda and George Harmon.
Vice-captain Baldwin, who helped County finish sixth in his maiden season with the club, believes the squad unit remains strong despite the loss of some key players during the summer.
Baldwin feels the new faces will be keen to play their part in enhancing it.
He said: “There’s change, with players leaving and loan players going back to their clubs.
“These things happen in football, but we have got the main bulk of the squad here from last season.
“What’s special about this group is that when I signed there were a few lads that were already a core part of the club.
“This season, those lads are still here and there are a few more that have been here for the last season.
“We went through the ups and downs of last season as a whole together.
“There have been a few new faces who have come in, but on the whole the bulk of the squad is really strong from last season and previous.
“The new lads coming in can only strengthen us. They have looked really sharp in training so far, so hopefully we can make an improvement on last season.”
Defender reflects fondly on Italy camp
County integrated their new arrivals during the week-long training camp in Verona last week, which they returned from on Saturday.
The Dingwall outfit are in friendly action at Brora Rangers on Wednesday, before facing Buckie Thistle in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday.
Baldwin felt the trip to Italy was a worthwhile experience, adding: “It was actually my first trip away with the squad, as I missed the Edinburgh trip during the winter break last year.
“It’s the first time I’ve really spent a solid period of time on top of the lads. We train every day together, but for the whole of the week we were with each other 24 hours a day.
“It’s good to be on top of each other, and getting to know the ins and outs of everyone even more so than we did back home.
“It gives the new lads a chance to meet everybody and suss everybody out for themselves.
“They will get to know the characters in the group, who they can relate to or who they might need to speak to a bit more to understand.
“It’s a really positive experience for everybody, and especially the new lads coming over.
“It will already help them bed in. They have already got their songs out of the way, so they are well and truly part of the group now.”
Baldwin firmly into his stride at Victoria Park
Defender Baldwin was an impressive performer in 30 appearances for the Staggies last year, following his switch from Bristol Rovers in August.
The 29-year-old is looking forward to kicking on in the new campaign.
He added: “I have loved being here, every minute of it has been fantastic. I feel like I have been here much longer than 12 months, but long may it continue and we can get a bit more success in the coming years.
“What helped when I first came in was the strength of the squad, the characters within the group really helped me to settle down.
“There is a culture that everybody buys into. There are no individuals or cliques, everybody is one.
“We will look to replicate that this year with the new lads coming in.”
