Ross County require favours from elsewhere if they are to win their Betfred Cup group but manager Jim McIntyre is confident his side will progress to the last 16 of the competition if they win both their remaining matches.
County take on League 1 side Alloa Athletic at Indodrill Stadium tonight before ending their Group D campaign with a home match against Highland League champions Cove Rangers on Saturday.
Last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Raith Rovers, from which the Championship side secured the bonus point with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory, meaning the Kirkcaldy outfit will win the group with a win against Alloa on Saturday.
While McIntyre knows Raith are in pole position to win the group, he reckons two wins will ensure his Staggies are one of the four best-placed runners-up from the eight groups.
He said: “If we win both games I would expect 10 points to be enough.
“From that side of things, I think it will be enough but it might not be enough to win the group.
“I saw signs on Saturday where we got into some great positions. We just need to make sure we start getting our final bit better.
“That’s a couple of games now where we’ve created good opportunities and we’ve not taken any chances from open play.
“We need to start being a bit more ruthless. If we do that we can make the games a more comfortable.
“I don’t expect our decision-making or our quality to be 100% yet, that’s the way it is.
“I expect it to get better and better with each passing game and it will.
“Players will be getting fitter and sharper and we’re going to have to have that type of performance against Alloa.”
French midfielder Christopher Routis is expected to make his first start for the Staggies, with Martin Woods set to miss out with a knee injury he sustained against Rovers.
McIntyre says Woods’ injury is not as bad as first feared, however, and expects him to return against Cove this weekend.
McIntyre said: “He’s a lot better than first thought. He’ll probably be available for Saturday.”
