Ross County will aim to find a breakthrough moment in their campaign in the four remaining matches before the winter break.
The Staggies find themselves at the foot of the Premiership table after 12 games, albeit behind Dundee United on goal difference.
Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock brought a halt to their hopes of a promising run of form, after they had taken four points from their previous two matches.
With only two wins to their name so far, which were separated by five matches without a win, it is fair to say Malky Mackay’s men have yet to find a run of genuine momentum.
It remains early days in the campaign, and Mackay can rightly point to the fact he oversaw such an impressive turnaround from a slow start last term.
County have also faced disruption to their starting line-up in recent weeks, with Ross Callachan going down with a hamstring injury at the weekend.
It followed a succession of ill-fortune in the full-back positions in recent weeks, with Connor Randall, George Harmon and most recently Ben Purrington facing lengthy spells out.
Difficult run of games approaching
There is no doubt the Staggies boss will be eager to spark the campaign sooner rather than later, however, with some tough fixtures awaiting them.
Next up this weekend is Hearts, who will make the trip to Dingwall on Sunday following their Europa Conference League home tie against RFS on Thursday.
The Jambos are encountering a sticky period of league form, having won only one of their last six matches, with Robbie Neilson’s men having been beset by a number of injury concerns.
County recorded three draws against the Edinburgh outfit last season, and were narrowly defeated at Tynecastle on the opening day of this term.
Another home match follows, against a St Mirren side which has started the season strongly and sits fourth in the table.
The Staggies then round off their fixtures before the break, with difficult away fixtures against Hibernian and Celtic.
It is clearly a challenging period for County, at a time when teams around them have been picking up points.
Although it is still short of season-defining territory, the fact games are running out before the World Cup makes it an important period.
There will still be 22 matches to be played when Premiership action resumes in December.
But, with a five-week break on the horizon, it is crucial the Staggies give themselves something to build on during this upcoming run.
The challenging nature of their next four fixtures is such any win they can pull off would come as a significant confidence boost.
Their fate will not be determined during this two-week period, but a decent points haul would ensure they are not left stewing over poor form during the break.
Some promising signs in loss to Killie
Despite the 1-0 loss to Killie, Mackay felt his side showed steps in the right direction.
Although they survived spells of pressure in the first half, County went on to produce some of their most threatening play of recent weeks.
In the early weeks of last season, at the height of County’s struggles for results, there was a gradual build-up in performances which made it seem inevitable a change in fortunes would come.
Mackay will be eagerly hoping the Dingwall side are not left waiting until after the winter break for that moment to happen.
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