Ross County manager Tony Docherty wants to emulate last visit to Perth as Staggies look to end two-year wait for a win over Championship rivals St Johnstone
Tony Docherty is confident that Ross County can end their two-year wait for a win over St Johnstone this weekend.
Recent seasons have pitted the two clubs against each other – first in a battle to avoid relegation from the Premiership, and this year in a bid to try and be at the top end of the Championship.
Over their last nine meetings, it is the Perth Saints who have had the upper hand. Their 1-0 win over County at the start of this season made it eight unbeaten in the head-to-head rivalry, with the Highlanders’ last victory coming on August 12, 2023.
The Staggies were buoyed going into this next clash by a long-awaited league victory, against Raith Rovers in Dingwall last time out.
Docherty, then, is looking to continue building momentum against the division’s early pace-setters to help close the gap that has already been built between the clubs.
"Any win comes at a good time,” Docherty stressed.
"Every match is a difficult task to try and win the game. You need to do it right in and out of possession, and it terms of executing a game-plan.
"It will be a big game, and there will be a good atmosphere at McDiarmid Park.
"Last time I was there, I had a really successful result (2-0 with Dundee un May) and hopefully I can emulate that, and the team can go with the confidence from Saturday's match against Raith Rovers and do all we can to pick up maximum points.
"It really is a case of game by game. Your biggest game is your next one.
"St Johnstone are a good side and they have put in a real level of performance from day one, but we go into this match with real confidence.
"There is a good atmosphere at the club, but more important than that, there has been a real momentum shift that we want to take that into Saturday's match.
Perhaps giving a slight advantage to County is the fact that St Johnstone will be missing Adama Sidibeh and Uche Ikpeazu – the Perth outfit’s match-winner in Dingwall earlier this season – due to international call-ups.
They will still pose a threat thanks to the likes of Championship top scorer Josh McPake and Jamie Gullan though, and Docherty will be relying on goalkeeper Trevor Carson to back up last weekend’s clean sheet, which was the club’s first league shut-out in 17 matches, with another solid display at McDiarmid Park.
"St Johnstone have built a really strong squad,” Docherty added.
"Whatever team we face, and we will identify their strengths and weaknesses, but it is much more about what we do on the day.
"If we put in a level of performance and we execute what we're working on in training and in analysis then we will give ourselves the best opportunity to pick up points.
“Trevor does breed confidence through the side. He looks so secure, but more than that he’s got huge experience and you can tell that in what he does.
“On a day-to-day basis he imparts that, not just to the young players but he gives real leadership and promotes a strong mentality. That’s why I brought him here.
“Nothing in that surprises me. It’s the day-to-day – he’s a real leader with such a strong mentality based on what he has achieved in the game.
“He promotes a really good atmosphere and a professional atmosphere that sets standards.”