Ross County defender Scott Boyd can draw on memories of successful scraps against relegation as he attempts to lift his side away from the foot of the Premiership.
Boyd, pictured below, was a young player with Livingston in 2005 when the West Lothian club outfit avoided relegation from the top flight – the last team to do so having been bottom of the table in mid-February.
Despite starting the season with a 3-0 win against County’s Highland rivals Caley Thistle – Inverness’ first ever top-flight match – Livi went on to endure a dire run of form of one win in its next 14 league games.
The Almondvale side had a late revival under manager Richard Gough, leaving it until the last day of the season to secure a 1-1 draw against Dundee and send the Dark Blues down.
Staggies captain Richard Brittain was on the bench for Livi on the final day and while County remain three points adrift at the foot of the league, despite the 3-2 win against Motherwell on Saturday, nearly a decade on Boyd is determined to make sure his current side does not leave it so late.
Boyd said: “I can remember we had a togetherness about the team. It was quite a small club as well and it all came together.
“It came down to the last game of the season against Dundee and I remember watching it as we got a draw to stay up.
“But leaving it that late is something we don’t want here. It’s something we’re trying not to think about now because there’s still a bit of football to go.
“People are writing us off, but there’s a great togetherness in the squad and we’re all pulling together trying to get ourselves out of this position.
“We are determined to avoid going down or even end up in the play-offs, we want to push up the league if possible.”
Boyd is targeting a victory in Saturday’s away game at Partick Thistle, the first of two matches against the Jags in the next fortnight. The 28 year-old reckons the Firhill side can be dragged into the relegation mix, and he added: “The games coming up are against teams around us, and it’s a chance for us to claw points back and maybe drag teams back in.
“It was a really good result for us on Saturday, first the performance and then hearing other results went our way.
“That’s the luck we’ve possibly not had this season, so hopefully it’s a sign of things turning.
“It’s all to do with the hard work we are doing and hopefully it’s showing on the pitch as well.
“It’s something we need to build on. It’s just one result and every game is massive. We know we’re running out of games and it’s important we start putting points on the board.”