Keith Watson is confident Ross County will find their attacking spark in the coming weeks.
The Staggies shared a 0-0 draw with St Johnstone on Saturday in a far from entertaining encounter at McDiarmid Park.
It is County’s second successive draw, which keeps them 10th in the Premiership.
Malky Mackay was forced to rebuild his attacking unit in the summer following the departure of key players such as Regan Charles-Cook, Joseph Hungbo and Blair Spittal in the summer.
Skipper Watson believes the new arrivals are coming close to clicking into gear, and he feels maintaining strong defensive foundations is vital in helping the attack build on a return of four goals from seven matches.
Defender Watson said: “If you keep a clean sheet you’ve obviously got a chance of winning the game.
“I thought we were defensively solid – all across the back – and as a team, I thought we were switched on.
“We moved the ball well and got into some good areas but were maybe just lacking that wee bit of quality in the final third. I think if we keep doing that, and keep getting into those areas, then things will start happening for us.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces. We obviously lost a few of our big players in those attacking areas from last season.
“I do think we have replaced those players well but it is just about getting that first goal and giving them that wee bit of confidence which will allow them to kick on.
“We will just keep going about our business, and doing what we’re doing, and I’m pretty sure the goals will come.”
County in a better place than 12 months ago
The Staggies have already improved on their start to last term when they failed to record a victory in their opening 10 matches.
Mackay oversaw an excellent turnaround in form and went on to lead the Dingwall outfit to a top-six finish.
Watson believes the opening stretch of the campaign has given the Staggies plenty to build on.
He added: “When you compare to last season, we’ve got going a lot earlier, and we obviously got that win against Kilmarnock. We’ve got a lot of belief in this team.
“We know we’ve got a really good squad. Even the players that aren’t starting, we know that they are just as good, so we’ve got a lot of belief in ourselves.
“We know that when we come back from the international break we can go on a good run and pick up some points.
“It’s just that final wee bit that has not clicked yet. When that happens I really think we will kick on and push ourselves up the table a bit more.”
Skipper eager to build momentum after international break
County must wait until October 1 for their next fixture at home to Hibernian, due to the forthcoming international break.
It is quickly followed by another home match against Motherwell three days later, in a fixture rescheduled from last weekend.
Watson is eager to string together a run of results on the Staggies’ return to action.
The 32-year-old added: “You do want to be playing every week because you want to build momentum. Obviously, last time out, we got that decent point against Aberdeen, and we’ve got another point against St Johnstone, so that’s good.
“We’ve not lost our last two games, but we want to start converting those draws into wins. But if we keep doing what we’re doing, and getting into those areas, then I don’t think we’ll be far away.”
Conversation