Northern Counties vice-captain Will Ford hopes his side can show their NOSCA Senior League title credentials over the coming week.
Counties top the table after winning all three of their games so far, and host second placed Forres St Lawrence in a crucial fixture at Northern Meeting Park tomorrow.
The Inverness outfit will then make trip to Ross County next weekend, with the Castle Leod side also in title contention with two wins out of three.
Ford has been encouraged by his side’s start, but he knows their success could hinge on the coming seven days.
He said: “We have had poor cup results, but other than that it has been a really good season.
“The league is what we have got to concentrate on now. It makes this weekend even bigger that Forres have only lost one game, while we are undefeated and we have Ross County the weekend after.
“If we win both of them, we set ourselves up for a really good end to the season.”
Ford feels the team selection for the visit of Forres, who lost out to Ross County in the T20 final last weekend, shows his side’s strength in depth.
He added: “It’s a big game for us. We have a good strong team out.
“The last few weeks have shown all the hard work we have put in with the youth is really paying off.
“For the first time in a long time, Shaun Thomas and I have had to make some really difficult choices about some boys that are normally stalwarts who have had to be left out of the first team.
“It’s just due to how many people are training and making themselves available.
“For me, as someone who has always enjoyed playing sport at a really high standard, that’s how it should be. People should not be getting picked for the sake of it.
“The best 11 should be getting picked, and the other ones need to go away and work to get brought back in.”
In this weekend’s other fixture, Ross County will aim to follow up their success in winning their first silverware for 21 years when they make the trip to Nairn County.
