Brian Graham insists there is no cause for alarm following back-to-back defeats for Ross County.
The Staggies were thrashed 4-0 by Queen of the South at the weekend with the result coming a week after a 1-0 loss at Morton. Despite the two losses County remain three points clear at the top of the Championship and while unhappy at his club losing twice Graham says no-one at Victoria Park is panicking.
He said: “We didn’t see it coming at all, especially the boys at the club. You have to credit Queen of the South, they had a gameplan and it clearly worked. It’s bitterly sore, but we digested it on Monday, we know where we went wrong and what we have to do to put it right.
“We were not good enough on the day and everyone had their say. We cleared the air and it was quite good to do that.
“We’ve been going well but we didn’t particularly play well at Morton and coming off the back of two defeats it was quite right to have a chat on Monday. We’re still in high spirits – we’re top of the league and there is nothing to get down about.
“The personalities at this club ensure we won’t be doom and gloom. We’re still top of the league, teams have still to knock us off the top, but we know the last two performances have not been good enough and we need a big improvement.”
Graham, who returns from suspension for his side’s trip to Motherwell in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, believes his team-mates will want to show they are Premiership quality by knocking Well, who reached the final of both domestic cup competitions last season, out of the tournament.
He said: “We are going to Motherwell in high spirits believing we can win the game. Motherwell are having an up and down season but they have quality in their side and it will be a tough game.
“This is an opportunity for us to show what we can do. A lot of boys in this team have played in the Premiership and want to get back there.
“Motherwell are the favourites so the pressure is off us. They are playing the Championship club and it’s the nature of the beast that their fans expect them to win but we are going there believing we can turn them over. We have to believe we can win every game.
“We’re taking the cup as it comes but it’s not top of the pile of priorities, let’s be honest here. Our target is to win the league and that is what we are striving for.
“We’re in the Scottish Cup, in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup and top of the league so there is a lot to be optimistic about. We’re going into every game trying our best to win the game and it will be no different on Saturday.”