Ross Draper insists Ross County have what it takes to avoid relegation from the Scottish Premiership.
The Staggies flopped again on Saturday, despite a late rally against Kilmarnock, and time is running out for the Dingwall men, who are now four points adrift at the bottom of the table.
However, Draper believes nothing will be decided until after the split and believes the squad is capable of putting the necessary wins on the board despite managing only two victories since November 4.
Draper said: “We’re running out of time and the postponement of the Partick game last week means there will be another midweek game. We’ve got nine games left now and it could go right down to the wire. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to train hard this week, stick together and get some results.
“It’s still in our own hands and after the split you play all the teams around you, so there is still a lot to play for.
“In recent years a team that has been down there before the split has fought its way out of trouble.
“The new management team has been brilliant. We had a great week building up to the Kilmarnock game.
“We really wanted that Partick game on last week because it was a home game and an opportunity for the new management team to get going right away and get us back to winning ways.
“That wasn’t to be and we worked well in training instead. There have been fresh ideas and the boys are buzzing.”
Two late goals made the scoreline more respectable at Rugby Park but Draper knows the Staggies have to improve defensively.
He said: “We’ve got nine games left to get things right.
“We gave ourselves a small chance with the two late goals but you can’t concede three goals away from home and expect to get a result.
“I think we were a little bit too expansive, too open and tried to play too much football at times.
“We need to regroup and have a look at all of that. It was a frustrating day but we need to move on.”
Too little too late, thescore, Pages 4 and 5