Liam Boyce has surged to the top of Ross County’s scoring charts this season, but manager Jim McIntyre says there is much more to the attacker’s game than goals.
Boyce continued his tremendous start to the new season in style, with a 10-minute hat-trick in Tuesday’s 7-0 League Cup victory against Falkirk at Victoria Park.
Having ended last season in impressive form, the Northern Irishman has carried his momentum into the new campaign, and has netted 16 goals in his last 17 outings for the Staggies.
The 24-year-old’s form earned him an international call-up in May, winning his fifth cap for his country in Northern Ireland’s 1-1 friendly draw against Qatar in Crewe.
Apart from his fine goalscoring record, McIntyre has been delighted by Boyce’s contribution to the side and reckons the forward has been a huge part of fourth-placed County’s good start to the season.
McIntyre said: “Liam has certainly shown a lot of quality, not just in his goals but in his overall play. He is very clever at finding space and picking up the ball in good areas, which causes teams problems.
“Carrying on from last season, it is a fabulous return. Forwards feed off confidence and he is in a very good place.
“What is getting him that is the hard work he puts in every day on the training ground. He’s taking that into the games.
“Liam is getting a lot of credit but the whole team is doing well. Liam would be the first to say how well his team-mates are doing in putting him into good positions. It has been a real team effort.”
County face Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow, with injury concerns over skipper Andrew Davies and midfielder Martin Woods, while Rocco Quinn and Craig Curran are out.
Michael Gardyne, Marcus Fraser and Ian McShane were left on the bench for the midweek thrashing of the Bairns, with the likes of Richard Foster, Stewart Murdoch and Brian Graham handed their chance to impress. McIntyre says their performances have given him food for thought ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Tayside.
McIntyre added: “When I make changes and choose to rest players, I hope the ones who come in that have not had a lot of game time come in and impress.
“They certainly did that. There were boys scoring goals and boys with assists. It’s a great problem for me to have.”