Jack Baldwin expects no let-up following Ross County’s difficult set of opening Premiership fixtures.
The Staggies have faced the league’s current top four sides, along with St Mirren and Kilmarnock, in their opening six matches.
Malky Mackay’s men have taken four points so far and sit in 10th place, two points ahead of bottom side Dundee United.
County make the trip to St Johnstone today in an attempt to pick up their first points on the road this season.
Although the upcoming fixtures look to be more favourable, team captain Baldwin insists the Staggies must work equally as hard to rack up the points.
Baldwin said: “We’ve had a tricky start to the season.
“I think looking back to the first game it was highlighted how well we played for large spells, but we took nothing from it so that counts for nothing at the end of the day.
“The last game against Aberdeen really tough, and it was a hard-fought point.
“We’ve had a few tricky fixtures playing Celtic and Rangers multiple times already.
“The league is tough, and every week is a tough game no matter whether it’s Celtic, Rangers or St Johnstone this weekend.
“We understand what it takes. There aren’t going to be any easy games in the league, so we’ll have to be on top of our game every week.
“We’re drilling that into everybody, and keeping the standard high during the week in training helps us do that. It’s definitely going to be another tough season.”
Defender keen to turn break into positive
County are in the midst of a stop-start schedule, with the trip to McDiarmid Park their only fixture in a four-week period.
Their home match against Motherwell was postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, while an international break follows the match against Saints.
Defender Baldwin is determined to make the most of the time away from the pitch.
He added: “It’s tough, because when you’re playing week in and week out with the odd midweek game here or there, you get into a rhythm.
“The lads that were here last season knew how the manager works anyway, but you get into a routine of a debrief, a couple of tough training sessions then looking forward to the weekend.
“We’re creatures of habit, so it’s nice to go through each step as it comes.
“International breaks and postponements do break it up a wee bit, and it is a bit frustrating.
“But we can turn it into a positive by working on stuff we might not have time to work on during normal weeks because we’re looking at the opposition.
“It gives us a chance to strip back and focus solely on the way we want to play.
“Obviously we have to adapt that every now and then depending on who we’re coming up against, but when we have these breaks it lets us work on that.”
Previous form counts for nothing against Saints
Englishman Baldwin is taking nothing for granted against Saints, despite County taking seven points from a possible nine against Callum Davidson’s men last season.
He added: “I’m expecting another tough, physical battle first and foremost.
“They’ve obviously got a few new faces through the door like everybody, so we know the games are going to be quite different to last season.
“We’ve looked at the shape they’re playing, how it might be a threat to us but also how we can expose them.
“I think it will be an interesting game, and it’s one we’re looking forward to.
“We’ve got the break afterwards, so we want to go into that on a high and go down to St Johnstone and get the best result we can.”
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