Ross County midfielder Ross Callachan is eager to end 2021 in style when the Staggies face Hearts at Tynecastle on Boxing Day.
County have moved out of the relegation zone into 10th place, after Callachan struck the winner in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over St Johnstone.
Malky Mackay’s men will play their final game before the winter break when they make the trip to Tynecastle on Sunday.
The SPFL have brought the break forward, following fresh Scottish government guidelines which limit crowd capacity to 500 due to Covid.
County’s home games against Motherwell and Aberdeen have been rescheduled for the new year.
The Dingwall men have built up a fine run of form, which has seen them lose just two of their last nine games.
Former Hearts midfielder Callachan says County are eager to keep their momentum going in the capital.
He said: “We don’t really want things to stop because we’re on a good run. Fair enough if that’s the case, though.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Tynecastle. It should be a really good game on Boxing Day.
“Coming away from St Johnstone with a win, it’s a really tough place to come, but we showed what a good team we are.
“Why not go and have a go at Tynecastle?
“We struggled at the start of the season, but it just took us a wee bit longer to gel. But you can see in the second half against St Johnstone we are starting to show what a good team we are.
“If we can keep building on that we will be all right.”
Midfielder made amends in Perth
Callachan’s winning goal came as the perfect redemption, after he had missed a penalty in the first half.
The 28-year-old, who previously played for Saints, was pleased to atone for the miss.
He added: “I had it in my head what I was going to do. I was going to take my time, take a wee step and see where he went, then put it in the other corner. It’s a blur now, but I’m happy to have scored the winner.
“That’s football – there’s 90 minutes of highs and lows. You could crumble after missing a penalty, but I just didn’t want it to bother me.
“I knew if I kept getting in the box, that’s my game and I try to get on the end of things. It was a great header from Jordan White back off the post and I’ll take them all day.
“It’s a wee bit satisfying. The club released me, but it’s a great club and I enjoyed my time at St Johnstone – it just wasn’t to be. But I’m happy to be enjoying my football at Ross County now.”
Mackay’s Staggies rebuild taking hold
Callachan was among 12 players who arrived at Victoria Park in the summer, after joining from Hamilton Accies.
The Edinburgh-born player has been thrilled with the Staggies’ progression under Mackay, having failed to win any of their opening 10 league matches.
He added: “We just keep getting better and better game by game and we take confidence from it. The gaffer always has us knowing what we are going to do to hurt teams. If we keep sticking to that we will keep getting good results.
“It’s not changed much. We just stuck to doing the right things. Even the stuff at the start of the season was right, but it wasn’t clicking. It’s taken a couple of months, but now it’s starting to show on the pitch.”