Jordan White believes Ross County have no shortage of firepower despite the loss of key players during the summer.
The Staggies got their season off to a winning start, by defeating Stranraer 3-1 in their opening Premier Sports Cup game on Saturday.
Forward White netted a double against the Blues, with strike partner Eamonn Brophy netting a late third.
During the close season County have lost two of their biggest creative outlets from last season, with leading scorer Simon Murray sold to Dundee and midfielder Yan Dhanda joining Hearts.
Staggies boss Don Cowie has already acted by drafting in Cliftonville striker Ronan Hale, who did not feature against Stranraer but will join up with his new team-mates this week.
Hale will have to wait for his debut, however, with the 25-year-old ruled out of Saturday’s game against Raith Rovers due to a suspension carried over from Northern Ireland.
White, who netted eight goals last term, says he and his fellow Staggies forwards have confidence in their ability to find the net.
He said: “We always back ourselves – I don’t think that’s a problem. I have always backed myself through my career, and Eamonn has as well.
“We have Alex Samuel as well, and Ronan coming in. There is good pedigree there, so I don’t think that’s an issue for us.
“You need the competition, you don’t want to get slack at all.
“It’s about us as a team building on the end of the season last year. It was good the way we ended it, but we don’t want to be there again.
“It’s easy saying it, but we want to do our talking on the pitch.”
White refusing to get carried away
Despite getting off to a fine goalscoring start to the campaign against their League Two opponents at Stair Park, White insists he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
He added: “From a striker’s point of view, it’s about confidence. I think you can see when strikers are confident, it’s so much easier.
“You want to build that, but the main thing for me is about the team. It’s not about any individuals.
“The only disappointing thing was losing a goal, as we should have been comfortable to get a clean sheet.
“Nobody is getting carried away, and I’m not getting carried away myself. It’s two goals for me personally and three points for the team, and now we move on to next week.
“That’s the most important thing now.”
County aiming to step up against Championship opponents
White, at 32, is among the Staggies’ most experienced campaigners, and was handed the captain’s armband by Cowie on Saturday.
The captaincy is currently vacant, following the departure of skipper Jack Baldwin to Northampton Town.
County will now face back-to-back Championship tests, with Saturday’s visit of Raith followed by a trip to Hamilton Accies the following Tuesday.
The Staggies will then finish their Group H campaign at home to League Two side Stirling Albion.
White hopes County can continue to build in the coming weeks, adding: “I did a bit of work away from pre-season so I feel in a good place.
“I’ve just been keeping myself right. The older you get, you’ve got to look after yourself a wee bit more.
“I don’t feel that old to be honest, but I’ve just been working hard.
“As a striker, you want to get off the mark, but the main thing for me is we got the points.
“It’s a tough group we’ve got – it’s probably one of the toughest. But that’s good, we will thrive off that.
“We’ve got a really good, hard-working mentality in the team, and everyone has been at it.
“We will look to keep on improving every week.
“We want to be competitive going into the start of the season and hopefully that will stand us in good stead.”
Conversation