Owura Edwards feels Ross County’s performance against Hearts was a strong starting point for the season despite the loss at Tynecastle.
The Staggies went down 2-1 to Robbie Neilson’s men, who triumphed thanks to second-half strikes by Alan Forrest and Barrie McKay, with Jordan White pulling a goal back late on.
County had dominated the first half but could not capitalise, with Edwards and Dominic Samuel both hitting the woodwork.
Edwards is among 10 new faces in Malky Mackay’s squad, and the on-loan Bristol City winger is confident his side’s style will blossom in the coming weeks.
He said: “The club’s a very forward-thinking, ambitious club. For us to come here to Hearts and for the players to be disappointed at us not taking anything just shows how much we have come on in the last six months.
“The club is on the up and it’s good to be part of it.
“We just have to keep doing what the manager tells us to do, and just play the Ross County way.
“I think we can improve too. We will only keep getting better.”
County blessed with attacking options
Edwards was a standout performer for the Staggies in Edinburgh, before being replaced midway through the second half.
Mackay’s line-up highlighted the options at his disposal, with Edwards, Samuel and Josh Sims given the nod to support Jordy Hiwula.
Kazeem Olaigbe and Yan Dhanda came off the bench, while recent addition William Akio is expected to be out for around six weeks due to a knee injury.
Edwards feels competition is rife, with the Englishman adding: “We have got other players too who can play in the front three positions and to mix it up. I think this season will be a good season for us because we have a lot of good attackers.
“One of the reasons why I came here is because Ross County play with wingers and I am a winger who likes to get on the ball and create chances.
“That was the gaffer who told us to do that and to press Hearts really high. We dominated the first half, but we sat off more in the second half and I think that’s where the control of the game comes in. We need to keep the ball more, so we don’t sit back as much.
“We will work on it as a team and find a solution for it.”
Edwards enjoyed his league debut despite the loss in Edinburgh.
The 21-year-old added: “There were 20,000 fans almost and that’s the most I have played in front of so it was a good experience. I thought I played well although there is also room for improvement.”
“It was very disappointing when my shot hit the bar. I thought it was in. Hopefully, the next one will go in.
“We have to move on to the next game, and we just need to keep adding on the layers.”
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