Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson insists the Staggies will allow Dundee United to do the talking in the race for the Championship title.
Although County remain top of the table with two games in hand, Robbie Neilson’s men have narrowed the gap between the sides in recent matches.
The shift began with United’s 1-0 win at Tannadice last Tuesday, in which a Staggies victory would have moved them 14 points clear.
United midfielder Calum Butcher earlier this week attempted to ramp up the pressure on the Dingwall men, insisting he “wouldn’t like to be in the Ross County dressing room right now, with us breathing down their necks.”
Ferguson knows his side are still firmly in the driving seat however, and he is confident the Staggies can hold their nerve to see the job through.
Ferguson said: “We will let everybody else do the talking, and we will just focus on what our job is.
“To be fair to our group of players and staff, what we have tried to do all season is just focus on ourselves.
“We will worry about things we can influence, and not bother ourselves about things we cannot.
“What other people say is something we can’t influence.
“We have fought really hard all season to get ourselves into this position – we are grateful for the position we are in and look forward to what’s coming ahead of us.
“Any professional footballer will tell you that if they were in this position, it would be one they would relish and look forward to. Our players are no different.
“We’ve got a group of men who have an opportunity to be successful. That’s what they want.
“The biggest thing is, the ball is in our court. If we continually look after what we do, as we have done until this stage of the season, we will be absolutely fine.”
County secured their first silverware of the season in Saturday’s IRN-BRU Cup final triumph over Connah’s Quay Nomads at Caledonian Stadium, however Ferguson insists the success will not distract the Staggies from their primary target of securing the league title.
He added: “Momentum and feel-good factor comes off the back of winning games.
“When you win a game that’s got a trophy at the end of it, it adds a little bit more to it.
“It certainly won’t do us any harm whatsoever.
“We have won a piece of silverware, and have been able to bleed seven or eight academy kids throughout the competition. We have also had an 18-year-old goalkeeper who has played in nearly every round for us.
“Regarding what we want from it, we have taken absolutely everything we could out of the IRN-BRU Cup and enjoyed that journey.
“That journey is over for now. It will be good to look back on once the season is finished, but if you look back on any round, it has never taken our focus off our main goal – which is league games. That’s still the case.”