Manager Malky Mackay is urging Ross County to stop record-chasing Motherwell scorer Kevin van Veen as the Staggies continue their bid for Premiership survival on Saturday.
Back-to-back wins over Livingston and Dundee United pushed the Dingwall club off the foot of the table, two points clear of United and just one point below Kilmarnock.
They are going for three on the spin as they head for Fir Park to tackle the Steelmen, who secured their position in next season’s top-flight last weekend with a 2-0 victory at St Johnstone.
And one player they will have to be fully aware of is Dutchman van Veen, who has scored in eight successive top-flight matches.
That eye-watering statistic means he is the first Motherwell player to score in eight consecutive top-flight games since the Second World War.
Former Inverness striker Craig Dargo was the last player to go on such a run – 17 years ago.
The 31-year-old scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win at the Global Energy Stadium in October and bagged a brace at the same venue against County in March as the Well won 2-0. He’s scored 26 goals in all competitions this term.
When these sides met in Lanarkshire in January, a Jordy Hiwula goal earned the visitors a 1-1 draw.
Mackay added: “Kevin is in a really good vein of form. We will prepare properly.
“Steven Fletcher at Dundee United is a terrific centre forward and we played against him at the weekend.
“We’ve faced (Aberdeen’s) Duk, (Celtic’s) Kyogo Furuhashi…I could keep going. Clubs have got good players up front, and we have to make sure we harness that.
“We’re looking forward to it. It will be a tough game for us. It always is down at Fir Park.
“Stuart Kettlewell has done really well and they are in good form.”
More twists and turns to come – boss
And Mackay insists, despite bagging two wins in the last fortnight, there’s plenty of work to be done to secure County’s status as a Premiership club.
He said: “It was a terrific (3-1) win at Tannadice last week. It gave the boys the chance to settle down and focus on Motherwell. We were delighted.
“We have to now focus on what is in front of us, like we did last week and the week before.
“It was important we bounced back from the Hearts game (a 6-1 defeat) and back to the way we had been in the weeks leading up to that in terms of the Celtic, St Johnstone and Aberdeen games.
“We got back to a manner which has been tough for our opponents. That’s what we did against Livingston and followed that up against Dundee United. That’s what we aim to bring to our last three games.
“You deal with what’s right in front of you. We all have twists and turns to come.”
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