Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson has called on the Staggies to show more firepower in today’s Premiership encounter with St Mirren.
County are aiming to return to winning ways when they host the Buddies this afternoon, after suffering back-to-back league defeats against Livingston and Aberdeen.
The Staggies opened their campaign with an impressive 3-0 triumph against Hamilton Accies, but having netted just once in their three league matches since, Ferguson is calling for a greater cutting edge from his side.
Ferguson said: “We probably need to create more chances than we have in the past couple of games as, on the law of averages, the more you create the more you score.
“As a team, we need to create more and I’m sure that will result in these guys taking them.
“We don’t just target the strikers for scoring and creating goals, we try to do it collectively. It’s the same when we lose goals.
“Strikers have a part to play in defending as well as attacking. Other units of the team have a responsibility for scoring creating and chipping in with goals.”
Forward Brian Graham returned from a hamstring injury to come on as a substitute in the 3-0 loss to the Dons at Pittodrie, and Ferguson feels he is putting pressure on Billy Mckay and Ross Stewart who have started all four league matches so far.
Ferguson added: “Big Brian is getting fitter and ready to go. He made a good impact coming off the bench against Aberdeen.
“Obviously we’re missing Lee Erwin who was going to be a big part of what we want to do.
“We’re happy with the strikers we have – there are plenty of goals among them.
“Brian, Ross and Billy are proven goalscorers in their own right and there’s certainly goals in that area of the pitch. We just need to make sure we give them that ammunition.”
Saints boss Jim Goodwin is no stranger to Ferguson and fellow co-manager Stuart Kettlewell, having come up against the Staggies with Alloa Athletic in the Championship last season prior to his move to Paisley earlier this summer.
Ferguson added: “Like anybody, Jim will know how we would like to play and what we expect of our players, just the same as we know what Jim would like from his players.
“Jim’s done a fantastic job at Alloa and rightly got the opportunity to go in there full-time at St Mirren.
“He’s made an impact since he went in and managed to bring in a few players he wanted.
“He’ll have had time work with them, so they’ll be a real threat and a difficult team to beat.
“We’re at home and we need to make sure we’re well up for it. We believe we have a team that can definitely compete with St Mirren and we’re looking to try to win the game.”