Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell is confident fatigue will not be a factor when the Staggies attempt to move a step closer to the Championship title on Friday.
Kettlewell had a youthful zest in his step yesterday out on the stadium turf – and reckons the County squad will soon be bouncing again too.
The Championship leaders remain six points ahead of Dundee United with three games to play after an incredibly tough schedule of nine matches in two months. But rest and recovery is top of the agenda for the shattered Staggies before they spring back into action for their Good Friday trip to Ayr United.
After a hard slog in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Partick Thistle, co-managers Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson took the unusual step of sending the players out for light training on the lush Victoria Park surface.
But it was the management themselves who were buzzing to be kicking a ball about beneath the big stands where they used to ply their trade.
Kettlewell said: “We’ve had a session today on the stadium’s pitch and Steven and I are like a couple of young kids out there, using that lovely surface.
“Groundsman Davie Fraser has done an exceptional job and that’s given everyone a lift going out on that surface.
“We’ll have had six days between the Partick and Ayr games, which is the longest period without matches we’ve had for quite some time.
“All the fitness and intensity work over the course of the season has pretty much been done.
“It’s now just about ensuring the players are prepared to give us everything for 90 minutes.”
A County win at Ayr and then an Inverness draw or win against Dundee United on Saturday would confirm the Dingwall side as champions. Kettlewell, though, has enough on his plate without worrying about events elsewhere.
He holds Friday’s hosts, play-off certainties a year after climbing out of League 1, in high regard.
Kettlewell said: “We won’t sit here hoping Inverness beat Dundee United or any other fixtures down the line.
“We have stuck to our task and not spoken about other clubs. We have three games and it’s in our hands.
“Ayr had a sticky patch at the turn of the year, but you look at what they did before then.
“They have maybe been the surprise package and have picked up again.
“You look at the quality in their team and they have guys justifiably playing in this division and potentially higher. That’s why they are so strong. They have goals in their side.”