Billy Mckay revelled in dishing out some cruel punishment to Dundee United as he marked his return to Tannadice with an emphatic hat-trick.
Mckay was clinical in front of goal, as he and Josh Mullin ran riot in the City of Discovery.
Mckay had an ill-fated loan spell at United during the 2015-16 season which culminated in relegation, with the home support giving the County striker some stick on his return.
His treble went some way to silencing those critics as the Staggies rammed home their superiority.
Mckay said: “I’m delighted with the three goals but most importantly we got the result. The first one went in off the groin and the second one fell to me nicely. The third one Josh put on a plate.
“The three points puts us back where we should be.
“I was on my own foraging about, trying to get into the six-yard box. Luckily the lads were putting the ball into the box and I was there, so it felt like old times for me. I enjoyed my time at the start here but it didn’t end well.
“I was getting a bit of stick so it was nice to give a bit back. I came in and didn’t realise how difficult a time it was. The manager changed after six games and I thought I was doing all right up until Christmas time.
“After that I felt it went south for the club and myself and it wasn’t the best time at the end. But it’s still a massive club to play for.
“That season a lot of stuff was going on and I maybe didn’t realise how much until I joined. There was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes and maybe wasn’t the best time to play for the club. You saw at half-time the fans were on at the manager which obviously doesn’t help.
“You can get slack in the last 30 minutes but the lads did a professional job. We didn’t go for it and then give them a shot.”
The match turned out to be Csaba Laszlo’s last in charge of United with his departure from Tannadice announced yesterday afternoon after 18 wins in 44 games.