Blair Spittal believes strength in depth will be key to Ross County’s success during the festive period.
Spittal netted a bizarre winner within seconds of coming on as a substitute in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Hibernian, with his cross evading everyone before creeping in at the far post.
The win marked an excellent start to a busy winter period for Malky Mackay’s side, who play 10 games in 39 days.
With Mackay having the luxury of a fully fit squad, midfielder Spittal says it is vital everybody plays their part.
Spittal said: “The manager has stressed that we have a big enough squad that we can deal with this run of fixtures.
“As players we all want to play every game and help the team out as much as possible.
“It is frustrating sitting on the bench like I was against Hibs, but sometimes you have to be patient and wait for the opportunity.
“When it comes, hopefully you take it.
“Going into this period of matches, I’ve given myself a little bit of extra confidence that I can get myself going again.”
Staggies eager to make up for lost time
The match against Hibs was only County’s second since their 5-0 triumph over Dundee on October 27.
Spittal says the Staggies are relishing the busy upcoming run, with Dundee United the next visitors to Dingwall on Saturday.
He added: “It has been tough. As players, we want to play games. They are now going to be coming thick and fast, so we’re happy with that.
“It is an important period. We have a chance to build a bit of momentum for ourselves.
“What happened after the Dundee win was out of our hands, with the Hibs and Celtic postponements.
“It was frustrating, but we’ve shown against Hibs that it hasn’t affected us.
“We’re now preparing for Dundee United’s visit and we’re looking to put in a similar performance in front of our fans.”
County remain bottom of the Premiership despite the victory over Jack Ross’ side, but they have cut the gap below Dundee to just a point.
Spittal believes the Staggies can take a huge psychological boost from their triumph over the Premier Sports Cup finalists.
The 25-year-old added: “It gives us a lot of confidence. In most of the games so far this season it has been small periods in games that have killed us.
“The Hibs game at Easter Road was probably the one game where we look back and think we didn’t do ourselves justice.
“Hibs in the first half that day blew us away.
“We’ve seen, since then, where we can hurt teams by doing our analysis after games.
“In the build-up to games, we know where we can hurt teams, whoever we face. That gives us a lot of confidence
“It is then all about taking that gameplan out onto the park and executing it.”