Ross County defender Andrew Davies knows the Staggies are in a dogfight after their ninth game without a win on Saturday at Motherwell dropped the club into the Premiership relegation play-off spot.
County were badly beaten 4-1 at Fir Park and Davies said: “It is really disappointing. We all expect to be doing better but are going through a tough patch.”
Scott McDonald headed Lionel Ainsworth’s free kick in before Louis Moult’s shot deflected in off County defender Kenny van der Weg.
Richard Tait scored the third and Ainsworth rounded goalkeeper Scott Fox for the fourth before Alex Schalk’s late consolation.
Davies added: “Things aren’t going our way and we are conceding poor goals.
“We’re not taking our chances when they come, and we’re not getting the rub of the green. We’re being punished but we’ve all got to stick together. We will keep going and try to turn it around but we’ve got to be honest and say we’re now in a dogfight.
“The result the other night against Celtic knocked our confidence a bit because I didn’t think it was a 4-0 game and we put so much into it. We just looked a little bit leggy and this was another tough game.
“But we’ve got to stay positive and there are going to be times in the season when other teams are going to be in the same position as ourselves. We have just got to stick together and work hard and, hopefully, it will turn.”
Questioned if there are enough players with the spirit to mount a recovery, Davies added: “I don’t see why not. I see us on the training pitch every day and we all stick together. Football is a crazy game. We work hard during the week and expect things to go well, but they didn’t.”
Davies was full of praise for manager Jim McIntyre, who he said leads by example and added: “We can’t get too downbeat about things.
“It is still early in the season and we’ve just got to all roll up our sleeves. I believe we have got the players who can do it and a manager who will instil that in us.
“Of course it knocks our confidence, losing games. But that is when a club relies on its experienced players and people who have been in this situation before.”