Ross County midfielder Ian McShane believes tonight’s Scottish Premiership encounter against Hearts is crucial to his side’s hopes of remaining in touch with the third-placed Jambos.
County are in fourth spot but trail Robbie Neilson’s side by eight points ahead of tonight’s game at Victoria Park.
Hearts have enjoyed victories in both meetings between the sides this season, with August’s 2-1 triumph at Dingwall followed by a 2-0 win at Tynecastle in October.
County are returning to Premiership duty, having been involved in cup action the last two weekends, and McShane is determined to show his side means business in the league by securing a win against the Edinburgh outfit.
McShane said: “It’s a massive game. We’re eight points behind them, so we want to close the gap and try to catch them.
“We’ve been lucky St Johnstone lost one of their games in hand at the weekend. That was good for us but we’re just focused on ourselves and taking care of our games.
“The league is always the main aim for us. The top six is the main focus. The cup games are good as well but we’ll just take each game as it comes. The main priority now is Hearts.
“They are the team directly above us, so it’s a massive game. If we can get the win it would put a bit of pressure on them for third spot.
“We’re trying to cement the top six and then once we’re there we can push on and see how far we can get.
“We want to be right up behind them. Especially with it being a home game, we want to win all our home games.
“It’s going to be a massive game and one we want to get three points from.”
McShane has not looked back since being handed his first start in two months in last month’s 3-2 defeat by Aberdeen, having started all three of County’s games since.
After initially finding game-time hard to come by after his summer move from Championship side Queen of the South, McShane is pleased he has seized his chance.
The 23-year-old added: “It’s been good – I’ve been enjoying it. I’ve been involved in bigger games, so, hopefully, I can keep my place and push on.
“I was patient and I worked hard. The manager spoke to me and told me I would get my chance and he has now given me it, so I’m pleased with that.”