Ross County manager Jim McIntyre accepts the Staggies’ slim top-six Premiership hopes will be over if they do not beat Partick Thistle on Saturday.
Partick occupy sixth-place ahead of this weekend’s crucial Firhill encounter, which is the first of four matches before the split.
County trail the Jags by six points but McIntyre still believes his side can make up that difference in upcoming head-to-head matches with Thistle, Dundee and Hamilton Accies.
McIntyre says the Dingwall men must deliver now.
“It is a huge game,” said the County manager. “If we win, it is all to play for, but we’ve got to win. Nothing else is going to do for us at this late stage. That’s the sole focus.
“There is a good chance but we have to do it now, otherwise after Saturday’s game, there would be too much to claw back.
“We’ve known for a while now we still have the chance. I think because we’re playing the teams directly around us that’s why we’ve got the chance. It’s not just three games – our next three games really are the proverbial six-pointers against Partick, Dundee and Hamilton.
“There’s an opportunity to do that but it is something we’ve not done all season. We’re going to have to be at our best to achieve it.
“We know we have to do it now because there are other teams with better goal differences than us as well and that could come into play.
“We have to do everything we can to make sure we’re successful in Glasgow.”
County were without several players for their 1-1 draw against Caley Thistle on March 18 but McIntyre hopes the international break will aid their recovery in time for this weekend’s match against Alan Archibald’s men.
He added: “The break came at a great time for us. We had four or five who have a good chance for this weekend and we’ve managed to get them recovered and a bit of training back into them.
“For the likes of Scott Fox, Martin Woods, Paul Quinn, Jay McEveley, these guys are feeling a lot better for having that rest week.
“We’re certainly in a stronger position squad-wise but I thought the boys who came on at Inverness did really well and helped us achieve that point.”
