Ross County manager Malky Mackay says Saturday’s display against Celtic has given him plenty reason for encouragement despite the Staggies’ 3-0 defeat at Parkhead.
County were undone by three second-half goals against the Hoops, with a heavily deflected Cameron Carter-Vickers strike followed by an Albian Ajeti double.
The Staggies had held their own in the game prior to the breakthrough and posed a decent goal threat of their own, with their best chance coming when Dominic Samuel’s header forced an excellent save from Joe Hart.
Celtic have run out six-goal winners at home to Dundee and St Mirren already this term, however Mackay feels his side’s efforts to make life difficult for Ange Postecoglou’s men bodes well for the Staggies’ upcoming matches.
Mackay, whose side host Hearts on Saturday, said: “I know there have been a couple of 6-0 scorelines at Parkhead. I get that, I played there and I know it can happen on any given day.
“We’ve got to make sure we take the positives from the fact we did have a good structure, and we stuck to the gameplan. I need them to stick to the way we are trying to set up in order to counteract teams.
“The players are adhering to that. There’s a way you have to play against certain teams in order to cause them problems.
“We’ve got to build on that. We’ve still got to be better than that as far as I’m concerned, but going forward if I get that sort of energy and enthusiasm, but also structure and discipline, we will be OK.”
Regan Charles-Cook was singled out for particular praise by Mackay, having been involved in much of County’s attacking threat.
Mackay feels there is more to come from the 24-year-old, adding: “The guy who I thought more than anybody else caused Celtic massive problems was Regan Charles-Cook.
“He gave Celtic’s full back a hell of a time.
“He did really well on Saturday, but I see him every day in training and I think with a bit more belief there’s way more in him.
“Harry Paton did well when he came on, he settled right into it and kicked on in the second half. I thought he was excellent.
“We are pulling out debuts every week at the moment. There is a group there that are still learning how to play with each other, learning each other’s traits and how I want them to be.”
Among County’s four-man backline there were first starts for Jack Burroughs and Jack Baldwin, with Mackay taking encouragement from the defensive performance.
He added: “I was delighted with the back four. We had two youngsters in full back positions, Jack Burroughs came in after a few weeks’ lay-off, and Ben Paton played at left back and they did very well.
“Jack Baldwin came in alongside Harry Clarke and I thought they were both excellent. It’s a good bedrock for us to start with.”