Ross County must stand up to the rigours of cup football in the coming days if they are to maintain their Premiership status.
The Staggies need not worry about points tallies or league placings any longer. As a result of being the 11th best team in the Premiership over 38 games, Malky Mackay’s men will have to secure top-flight survival the hard way.
Standing in their way is a rampant Partick Thistle outfit, who are looking to create history by becoming the only fourth-placed Championship side to advance through the play-offs.
Since they were introduced in 2014, only three sides have been promoted at the expense of the second-bottom Premiership side.
On each of those occasions however, Hamilton Accies, Livingston and Dundee all finished runners-up in the Championship. That meant they played only four extra games in addition to their domestic league campaign.
While it is often the case that second-tier sides can run out of steam by the time they reach the play-off final stage, Partick appear to be improving with every passing hurdle.
Kris Doolan’s men are unbeaten in 10 matches, and have racked up 16 goals in their four play-off games so far.
They will approach the tie against the Staggies fresh from a 5-0 away win against Ayr United, which amounted to an eight-goal aggregate victory without reply against the Honest Men.
It is impressive form, which has led many to believe Thistle are in with a great chance of ending their five-year absence from the top flight.
County aiming to make Premiership credentials count
There is no doubt that County will be a step up in opposition for the Jags compared to the sides they have beaten on their way to the final.
Despite finishing their league campaign with a below-par display in defeat to Kilmarnock, the Staggies showed enough in their post-split fixtures to indicate they are not doomed to the drop.
While a seven-point haul was not enough to secure automatic safety, it succeeded in saving them from a precarious position they found themselves in following their 6-1 loss to Hearts.
Mackay has admitted that staving off direct relegation seemed a tall order at that point, given that defeat left his side four points adrift at the foot of the table.
He will therefore have taken their escaping of that fate as a minor victory – but fully in the knowledge it will count for nothing unless the Staggies can capitalise on their second chance through the play-offs.
This will be County’s first experience of the play-offs in the nine years they have been established.
Bearing in mind the knockout nature of the Staggies’ final hurdle, recent form will be irrelevant as County seek to impose themselves on the task in front of them.
While the Staggies will aim for a positive result on Thursday, they will also be mindful the tie cannot be won or lost in Glasgow’s west end.
All will become clear by Sunday evening, by which point County will have needed to come through a serious test of mettle in order to secure a fifth successive season among Scotland’s elite.
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