Ross County defender Alex Iacovitti knows only too well the challenge he faces against Hibernian forward Christian Doidge this afternoon.
The pair were teammates at Forest Green Rovers where Doidge netted an impressive 66 goals in 122 appearances.
The Hibernian forward has not been quite as prolific north of the border with only seven goals for the campaign but Iacovitti knows the 28-year-old can pose plenty of problems for the Staggies this afternoon.
He said: “I played with him at Forest Green. He is a good lad.
“He was on fire and scored plenty of goals. I know his game pretty well.
“We always have a little joke before or after the game.
“It will be nice to see him but when we are on the pitch we will be battling it out with each other.
“At Forest Green, he was scoring goals left, right and centre.
“The season I was there he scored about 25 goals.
“As soon as I went through the door at Forest Green I could see he was a good player and a goalscorer.
“It doesn’t surprise me he has done well up here.
“He works hard and it will be good to see him but hopefully I will be the one coming out on top.”
‘Every game is massive in this league’
The Staggies are unbeaten against Hibernian in the league this season after drawing 0-0 in Dingwall in October and recording a 2-0 win at Easter Road in December.
Iacovitti takes confidence from his side’s record against top four sides this term with the Staggies also having enjoyed impressive wins against Celtic and Aberdeen in Dingwall.
He said: “I’m really not sure what that is down to.
“Every game is massive in this league, especially now.
“We just need to take it one game at a time, work hard and try to get the three points.
“I don’t know why we have done so well against the top four teams, such as Hibs, Celtic and Aberdeen.
“But beating the teams around us is even more important.
“It is all well and good beating teams in the top four but there is no point if we can’t beat the teams around us. We have to beat both.
“If we put in really good performances like we did against the top four teams then I’m sure we will be ok.
“We just have to take each game as it comes and work our socks off.”
Today is the fifth anniversary of Ross County’s League Cup final victory against this afternoon’s opponents Hibernian.
Iacovitti would love to mark the occasion with another victory against the Leith side.
The 23-year-old, who joined County from Oldham last summer, is also keen to emulate the County class of 2016 and make his own Hampden cup memories.
He said: “It would be amazing to do something like that.
“The main aspect this season is staying up. We are fighting for our lives.
“We are a humble bunch but it would be great to go to Hampden with the boys.
“Why not? It is something we could look forward to in the future.
“We still have the Scottish Cup but staying in the league is the most important.”
The Staggies head into this afternoon’s match with confidence following their 3-2 victory against fellow strugglers Kilmarnock last weekend, while Hibernian travel north on the back of defeats against Motherwell and St Johnstone.
Iacovitti hopes his side can build some momentum and move further away from the drop zone by beating Jack Ross’ men today.
He said: “We needed that win (against Kilmarnock) as it was a massive game.
“Now we focus on the next game and stay humble.
“We are looking to get the three points against Hibs.
“Every game is an opportunity to get points on the board and extend the gap.
“We don’t want to think too far ahead.
“We keep working hard and remain grounded.
“We have a really good spirit and we are just taking it one game at a time.
“We don’t think about the gaps in the league table.”