Jack Baldwin says the opportunity to celebrate Ross County’s top six finish with fans and backroom staff was ‘special’ for the Staggies players.
County capped a remarkable campaign by defeating Aberdeen 1-0 at Pittodrie on Saturday, to clinch top-half football for the first time since 2016.
Baldwin was among several new recruits by manager Malky Mackay last summer, after joining from Bristol Rovers.
The 28-year-old, who skippered the Staggies against the Dons, says the scenes of jubilation following the match will live long in the memory.
Baldwin said: “We have some young guys among our support, but for the older people they have seen the club through all the leagues.
“They won the cup a few years back and they’ve seen promotions.
“But to go and celebrate with those people after a top six finish in the Scottish Premiership is what it is all about.
“They have travelled with us fantastically throughout the season, supported us through some tricky games where their voices have got us through.
“Those 10 minutes out there celebrating with them were really special to me and all the lads.
“We’ve got some fantastic people involved at Ross County, who have seen the club from the Highland League all the way through.
“The chairman himself came in and had a few words. There are people like Dale (Pryde-MacDonald) and Fiona (MacBean), our club secretary, who works her backside off every day.
“It is for those people it means the most.
“For us players to do them justice for the work they do off the pitch is a great achievement for everybody involved.”
European push now a reality for Staggies
By securing a top six spot, County are now firmly in contention for a European place which could potentially be sealed by finishing fifth.
Baldwin insists the Staggies’ work is far from done, adding: “We spoke in the changing room after.
“We’re in there with some really good teams, but, other than Celtic and Rangers – who pose their own kind of threat – the rest of the games present a massive opportunity for us.
“We believe we can go and get some results.
“We won’t be there to make up the numbers. There is a strong group here, and a belief we can go and really challenge ourselves in this last section of the season.
“We’re in the mix now. With five games to go, anything can happen.
“There’s a lot of football to be played and all of the teams battling it out will fancy their chances.
“We’re here on merit and there’s no reason why we can’t challenge.”
County targeting further strides
Having clinched a top-six place in Mackay’s first season in charge, Baldwin is hopeful it marks the start of a period of sustained success in Dingwall.
He added: “We believe in what we do and understand that we have some fantastic talent in the squad.
“At the start of the season, it was a case of working out how all of the new faces would work together and getting the team flowing.
“We’ve had some tricky games this year, games we probably could and should have won early on in the season.
“A game like Aberdeen over there on Saturday probably wouldn’t have turned out 1-0 to us earlier in the campaign.
“A clean sheet and a 1-0 win away from home on such a pivotal day of the season is just a sign of what we, as a football club, are all about.
“Hopefully we can only get better and keep kicking on from here.”