Don Cowie says the strides taken by Ross County are evidenced by the Staggies taking their top-six push to the wire.
County remain firmly in the hunt for a top-half finish ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aberdeen.
A victory for Malky Mackay’s men at Pittodrie, along with Hibernian failing to defeat Hearts, would assure County a first top-six finish since 2016.
After returning to the top-flight in 2019, County have recorded back-to-back 10th-place finishes.
Under John Hughes last season, a closing run of three straight victories was required to secure the Staggies’ Premiership safety.
Assistant boss Cowie says being in contention for a top-half spot going into the final pre-split fixture is a mark of their improvement this term.
Cowie said: “You always want to improve.
“It has been a challenging couple of years off the back of getting promoted. You go into a league where the challenge is to stay in it, and we managed to do that.
“Last year with the change of management, again it was about survival and it went down to the last game.
“This year was about trying to improve, and getting to the end of the season without having to fight to stay in the league.
“We’re still in a challenge, but we’re in a great position, and that’s testament to the boys and the hard work they’ve put in.”
Cowie takes pleasure in Staggies’ increasing confidence
County have kept up their push for a top-half place with a strong run of form, which has seen them win five of their 12 games since the turn of the year.
Having started the campaign with a sequence of 10 matches without a win, Cowie says the upturn in fortunes has been all the more satisfying for the Staggies’ coaching staff.
Cowie added: “It’s challenging, because when the results don’t come you start to question why it’s not happening.
“We’ve seen enough daily with the way the boys train that if we kept doing what we were doing and trusting the process then results would come.
“I know it’s easy saying that, but you have to persevere – and we did that.
“It’s amazing what can happen in any sport if you get that confidence. All of a sudden, we’ve got a really confident group – and it’s no surprise that since then the results have changed.”
Cowie says the Staggies are in relaxed mood ahead of their crunch fixture with the Dons, who are a point further behind in ninth.
He added: “It’s a big game because of what could happen.
“At the same time, we could win the game and still not finish in the top six, and we realise that.
“We just want to finish the season as well as possible. If that means finishing in the top six, brilliant. If not, we want to finish seventh.”