Ross County forward Jake Jervis is determined to reward the faith of manager Jim McIntyre following his return to the starting line-up.
Jervis had found opportunities hard to come by under McIntyre, with Martinique international Yoann Arquin given the nod.
But Jervis, pictured, has returned to the team in County’s last two Premiership matches, helping the Dingwall side to a 3-0 win against Kilmarnock before scoring in the 2-1 defeat against St Johnstone on Saturday.
The 23-year-old has been determined to catch the eye of McIntyre and assistant Billy Dodds and the former Birmingham City and Portsmouth attacker is eager to keep his place.
Jervis said: “The manager and Doddsy have done a lot of work with me and helped me loads. They have great experience of playing up front so they talk me through things that will help me with my game.
“It’s going to help me massively. Any player is disappointed not to be in the team. I spoke to the manager, worked hard, and got myself into the team. When I have started games, I’ve tended to get goals, so I want to keep myself in the team and get goals whenever I can.
“Now I’m just looking to progress from here. When you are playing and scoring goals, every attacker takes confidence and feel the confidence of the manager as well.”
The Staggies take on Saints at McDiarmid Park for the second time in seven days in Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie. After the disappointment of defeat against the Perth side on league duty, Jervis reckons the weekend’s game is the perfect opportunity for redemption.
He added: “Of course, the league is our main focus – it’s hugely important. But we want to do as well as we can in the cup and try to put together a good run.
“It is another game and something that can give us confidence going into the next one.
“It will be the first time in my career I’ve played against a team in consecutive matches.
“This will be like playing against your own team-mates in training.
“We’ve eyed each other up the week before working on what the other team did well and what we can capitalise on.”