Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson hopes the return of Don Cowie and Iain Vigurs for the finale to the Premiership campaign can provide the impetus needed to keep the club in Scottish football’s top flight.
The veteran duo linked up to great effect as they helped the Staggies record only their second away win of the season in the league with a 2-1 victory at 10-man Aberdeen.
The win takes County 10 points clear of bottom-club Hearts and Ferguson believes both Cowie and Vigurs have key roles to play in the final 10 matches.
He said: “We’ve missed Don and we’re really happy to have him back as fit and strong as he is now.
“He and Vigurs give us strength in the middle.
“They don’t waste many passes, and don’t miss many opportunities to play it forward either.
“They did a great job on Saturday but it’s only one game. Only three points. You don’t get anything extra for winning at Aberdeen.
“We’ll take it, of course, but it’s important we don’t think we’ve cracked it after winning one game.
“We’ve got a huge task on our hands to stay in the Premiership.
“We need to make sure we use this game as a springboard to win more. It’s probably our biggest win of the season.
“We’ve had a bit of a monkey on our back in terms of the away form, so for us to go out and right that wrong was big for us as a group.”
County have a strong lead in the fight to stay in the division but Ferguson knows how quickly it can all change and insists no-one at the club will be resting on their laurels despite the 10-point advantage.
He said: “Our end goal is to stay in the league. If we get more performances like that we’ll manage it. If not, we’ll have a hell of a hill to climb.
“We’ve never doubted our group – it’s everyone else that has. There’s never been a lack of commitment or effort. We need more than that to stay in the Premiership. We need quality too.
“Stuart and myself might be biased, but we think we have that quality.
“On Saturday Billy Mckay showed that. On other occasions other guys have. They were two great finishes from Billy, and different styles too – one with his head, one with his feet. I’ve said in the past, if we feed Billy, the law of averages says he’ll take his chances.
“But we have to keep it in perspective. It’s only one game. Only three points. We won’t get carried away.”