Ross County manager Jim McIntyre hopes a capacity crowd at tomorrow’s Highland derby encounter against Caley Thistle can help the Staggies round off a memorable week.
After Sunday’s League Cup final victory against Hibernian, the Dingwall side came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against St Johnstone in Wednesday’s Premiership encounter at McDiarmid Park.
County will celebrate their first major silverware with a parade after tomorrow’s game against rivals Inverness at Victoria Park, and ticket sales for the match have been impressive, with very limited availability for the home sections of the ground.
The west stand is already sold out, with tickets for County supporters only remaining in the east stand and Jailend, while Caley Thistle are believed to have sold 600 tickets in the away section.
McIntyre has called on Staggies supporters to act quickly to secure any remaining tickets and says a full house could make all the difference as County chase a victory that would move them closer to clinching a top-six finish.
McIntyre said: “The sole focus is on Caley Thistle now. It’s such a short turnaround for both sides with them having had the disappointment of losing their Scottish Cup tie against Hibs on Wednesday, too.
“There is no time to feel sorry for yourselves as you get on with the game. A derby is a derby and will take care of itself.
“We are looking at a sellout crowd. I am looking for our supporters to come along and make it as noisy an occasion as possible. Inverness have a better record here and we are keen to change that. We will have to have a really good performance because they are a good side.”
McIntyre hailed the character of his team to recover from the loss of an early goal to secure a point against Saints in midweek, just three days after their Hampden heroics against Hibs.
He added: “It’s been a really huge effort from all. I was so proud of the players on Wednesday because that was a really tough match. The guts we showed was fantastic. We started well then lost a goal with their first foray up the pitch. Sometimes when that happens teams can feel sorry for themselves. There has been a lot of energy expended by getting to a cup final where it can take a lot out of us, but we showed unbelievable character and desire and quality at times as well.
“There has been a lot of fighting character shown from the lads and it was a great point for us.”