Malky Mackay wants more belief in attack as Ross County squad set to be bolstered by injury returns for crunch Scottish Premiership clash against St Johnstone in Dingwall
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Malky Mackay is looking for his players to show more belief going forward against St Johnstone than they did in their 2–0 defeat to Hibernian last time out.
Jake Doyle-Hayes scored twice to seal the points for the hosts at Easter Road, albeit with Mackay believing the first in particular came in controversial circumstances, as County registered just four shots compared to their opponents' 15.
However, the Staggies have turned their attentions to what could prove to be a vital game in the basement battle in the Premiership when St Johnstone visit Dingwall on Saturday.
The Perth outfit can reduce the gap to County to just a single point if they manage to win, a scenario Mackay's men will be desperate to avoid coming into the final stretch of the campaign.
To give themselves the best chance of victory, then, the former Scottish FA performance director wants to see his side return to their fluent best in the attacking third.
"We just need to show a little bit more belief on the front foot," he insisted.
"We had a lot of it in the first half. I thought we were really brave in possession of the ball, and really what I was looking for in the second half was more of the same, plus dialling up the runs I was expecting them to make by 10 per cent – that changes how they run as well, and what spaces become available.
"That was a little thing that we were slightly disappointed with in the second half, and even then it was an error that led to the first goal with our boy being fouled.
"We were chasing the game when the 30-yarder goes in, and at that point we could still have come away with the draw.
"At the same time, it's a measure of the team right now that we can go to Easter Road with the size of Hibs and the budget they are able to spend on players and want to win, and feel we should be winning."
Team news
County have had a handful of players missing in the last week or two, with the likes of Blair Spittal, Keith Watson and David Cancola all missing from matchday squads, while Ashley Maynard-Brewer suffered a broken nose against Rangers that he still has not fully recovered from.
New signing Josh Sims will have to remain patient for his Staggies debut having gone through serious health issues between Covid, ulcerative colitis and heart problems over the last year, but Mackay is optimistic he will have an extra couple of players available to face the Perth Saints.
"We should have one or two on the way back from injury," he explained.
"We've got four or five out at the moment, and we're hoping one or two will be back for Saturday.
"Ash went down to Charlton to get his injury looked at, but he's back up here now. He'll probably be out for another week.
"Josh going to need a pre-season – and I don't mean in pre-season, I mean in the next month.
"He's going to need a wee while. I was absolutely delighted to get him in, the quality of footballer he is and the experience he's got for a young man is excellent.
"Through his health situation, we'll need a month of really hard work to get him up to speed. If we can get him for the last five or six games, then all the better."
