Ross County skipper Marcus Fraser is determined to shift the pressure on to the chasing pack by extending the Staggies’ lead at the top of the Championship with a victory at Morton tomorrow.
County moved three points clear of Ayr United before the turn of the year thanks to Saturday’s late 2-1 Highland derby win over Caley Thistle, although the Honest Men still have a game in hand.
The Staggies make the trip to Cappielow tomorrow, with another win ensuring they will be six points ahead of Ayr by the time Ian McCall’s men kick off at home to Falkirk on Saturday.
Defender Fraser is eager to capitalise on the opportunity, and the 24-year-old said: “With it being a Friday night we need to try and win, so that people are looking up at us another three points ahead before their game on Saturday.
“It’s a big one for us. We have seen it over the course of the season, with some teams sitting in we have maybe found it difficult to break them down.
“I think we have done well though, we have hung in there like we did against Inverness on Saturday.
“At the start of the game the three points was massive, we knew how big it was in the title race.
“The other results were positive for us and it just shows you how big the win was. We’ve got a big game down at Morton which we are looking forward to having rested up during the week. Hopefully we can go down there and look for the three points.”
Although County were on the backfoot for much of Saturday’s derby against Inverness, former Celtic player Fraser insists scrapping out victories is a strong quality, adding: “The managers are big on trying to find something when we are under the cosh, getting a goal that can change the game.
“Picking up too many draws is not going to get you far in the table. We know how much three points are needed, especially in a derby match where you need to stamp your authority on the game.
“As a whole we can maybe do better, but we went into the game wanting to win and that’s what we did so we are happy.”
Fraser reserved praise for winning goalscorer Ross Stewart, who has now netted two goals in his last two games having recently broken into Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson’s side.
Fraser added: “Late on we got a cross into the box and big Ross was in the box. It was a great goal, he does it brilliantly all the time.
“He deserves it because in the last few weeks he has put the work in. He has led the line for us, winning headers and scoring goals.”