Ross County manager Jim McIntyre has challenged his side to put the brakes on Hearts’ excellent start to the Premiership season.
There has been no let up in the Jambos’ momentum after winning the Championship by 21 points last season, with the Edinburgh outfit currently leading the Premiership having won all three games on their top-flight return.
County have won their only home fixture of the season, defeating Hamilton Accies 2-0 at Victoria Park last Saturday, and McIntyre has told his players to stamp their authority on Hearts.
McIntyre said: “Hearts have started where they left off last season.
“They’ve made a lot of new signings, like ourselves, who have settled in well. They are free-scoring and a major threat. I watched their 4-3 win against St Johnstone and we had them watched at their 2-0 win against Motherwell on Wednesday night.
“They’re doing a lot of things well at the moment, and we know it will be a tough game, but it’s up to us.
“We’ve started well and we want to make sure we continue making Dingwall as hard a place as possible to visit.”
County failed to pick up any points until their eighth game last season, but despite already being four points better off after three games this season, McIntyre is refusing to get carried away and said: “We are three games in and we’ve picked up four points. It’s not like we’ve had a start like Hamilton did last year, when they put a lot of victories together.
“I’m pleased, but there’s more to come. The players are still getting to know each other.
“We won’t get ahead of ourselves as we know how hard it is to win games at this level. We’ve just got to keep doing the right things.”
McIntyre hopes to have defender Scott Boyd back in the side, after missing Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against St Johnstone with a neck injury.
Boyd is County’s longest-serving player, and having played 287 games for the Staggies he will break Mark McCulloch’s record for the most appearances for the club if he features against Hearts today.
The performance of debutant Chris Robertson has given the manager a selection dilemma, after the former Port Vale defender impressed when he stood in for Boyd against Saints.
McIntyre added: “I would like to think Scott would be back.
“He had a stiff neck, which got worse on the bus journey down the road.
“It’s just one of those things Scott gets from time to time. But Chris Robertson was excellent against St Johnstone. He had a really good, solid game. That’s why we added good competition.”