Ross County winger Josh Mullin feels Staggies co-managers Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson have helped him reach the peak form of his career.
Mullin opted to remain in the Championship by joining the Staggies in the summer, despite helping Livingston to win promotion to the top-flight last season.
The 26-year-old has been a creative influence for the Dingwall side, with his tally of six goals already two more than he netted for the Lions throughout all of last term.
Although Mullin was on the books of both Celtic and Rangers as a youth player, Mullin’s route to full-time senior football included spells in the juniors with Pollok and Kilbirnie Laeside which earned a move to Albion Rovers in 2014, prior to joining Livi two years later.
Mullin, who will be part of County’s side that faces Alloa Athletic at Recreation Park today, feels Kettlewell and Ferguson have helped take his game to another level, and he said: “I think everything about my game has kicked on.
“The managers have been the most important thing. They understand what I can bring, and what my game is all about.
“It’s the belief they bring me, they tell me to express myself in every game and that is excellent for me.
“Last year was more about the defensive side which everybody saw. I still enjoyed it, I loved my time there, but this year I’m just getting total freedom to go and play and as you can see it’s benefitting me.
“My stats have always been good in terms of assists, and an assist for me is just as good as a goal. I don’t care who is scoring.
“I have scored more already this season than I did last year, so I’m delighted to get more goals as well.”
Mullin has helped take County to within touching distance of the league summit, with eight wins from 14 matches so far, but the Glasgow-born player says the Staggies must maintain their form in the coming weeks.
He added: “This period is always massive – it defines your season I think. Team can still be up and about it at Christmas time then fall away, so the target is just to keep winning games.
“We had a couple of disappointing results, but the boys knew we could perform better and turn the draws into wins.
“We got back to winning ways against Dunfermline Saturday, and the weekend before that in the cup, so we want to continue that.”
Today’s opponents, who are part-time, have significantly narrowed their pitch this season, however Mullin is not concerned about the impact it will have on him and his fellow wide players.
He added: “We’ve got players that are suited for their pitch as well, so it won’t affect me. I will go about my business and there are certainly other players who can deal with the tighter areas.
“Come the game we will be fine. We will be ready for that.”