Ross County midfielder Jonathan Franks believes his team-mates have learned from the mistakes in Premiership defeats to champions Celtic and Hearts.
Franks reckons confidence is high within the squad after the Dingwall side’s 2-1 victory against Dundee United on Saturday.
County have made a bright start to the Premiership season, with 10 points accumulated ahead of the forthcoming international break, with the only two defeats coming on the opening day of the season at Parkhead and the home match against the Jambos on August 15.
Franks was man of the match against the Arabs, playing a big part in setting up both his side’s goals, with Liam Boyce’s penalty and captain Andrew Davies’ goal enough for the Highlanders despite United defender Sean Dillon pulling one back with a stunning long-range shot.
One of 12 summer signings made by manager Jim McIntyre, former Hartlepool United midfielder Franks reckons the much-changed squad has quickly developed a strong spirit, and is confident they can maintain momentum.
The 25-year-old said: “We’ve got a brilliant squad here and all the players stick together. We stand by each other and gee each other up to try to get the best out of each other.
“The team had a good end to last season and was looking to take that into this season.
“We have, but we are not going to rest here. Now we want to push on and see how far we can go throughout the campaign.
“We’ve lost twice to two of the leading teams and that says something about our start. In the 2-1 defeat against Hearts we could have got something but we had a sloppy start and conceded two goals we could have prevented. But we’ll learn from that.”
Franks was making his home debut against the Arabs, having made a flying start to his Staggies career with a debut goal in the previous weekend’s 4-0 win against Kilmarnock.
The Englishman has settled seamlessly into his new surroundings, and is determined to keep his place in the team.
Franks added: “The style the manager and Billy Dodds want to play suits me. I’ve just got to take every opportunity I get. I got good service and the midfield was looking to get the ball wide and for me to link up with the forwards and work with Marcus Fraser at full back.
“I was quite lucky in the first half when I saw a lot of the ball and I had to be positive in possession and try to create some chances.
“The man of the match award is good for my confidence and people notice I’m doing well.
“But I’ve just got to look at the next game – and it’s good to get a win going into the break.”