Ross County manager Jim McIntyre has warned it is imperative his side takes advantage of a more favourable festive fixture list.
County had lost five of their previous six league matches before coming from behind to defeat Hamilton Accies 3-1 on Saturday and move up to fifth in the Scottish Premiership.
Having faced all of the other top-six sides in their past seven games, the Staggies now embark on what should be a more profitable sequence with the next four matches all against teams in the bottom half of the table.
That starts this weekend with a trip to Firhill to face Partick Thistle, who have won three on the bounce to climb up to eighth position, before games against Dundee, Kilmarnock and Inverness.
The Staggies manager said: “It is important we build on the win on Saturday. We have played all the teams above us twice now and I know other teams have a bit of catching up to do in that regard.
“It is important, when we play teams around about us in the league, that we try to maximise the opportunities. But when other teams are playing Celtic or Aber-deen there is no guarantee they are going to drop points as teams can beat them as well. We just have to look after ourselves.”
Saturday’s win at Hamilton was County’s first on their travels since beating Kilmarnock 4-0 at Rugby Park in August and the Staggies manager was pleased to end a near four-month wait for success on the road.
McIntyre said: “After the slap in the face we took against St Johnstone the previous week when we lost 3-2 at home, we knew we had to bounce back quickly so that it didn’t turn into a bit of a rut.
“It was a great feeling to get that away win – that gets the monkey off of our backs.”
Liam Boyce and Craig Curran were both on target during Saturday’s win at New Douglas Park.
The pair have now scored 20 goals between them, with Northern Ireland international Boyce taking his tally for the season to 14.
McIntyre added: “They never know when they are beaten and have got fantastic spirit. They keep going and as a partnership they are a real threat.”