Don Cowie is aiming to rectify what he considers Ross County’s low point of the season when they make the trip to St Johnstone.
The Staggies travel to Perth with an opportunity to take a huge step towards avoiding automatic relegation from the Premiership, when they face the bottom-placed Saints.
County, who have won their last two matches, are currently 11 points ahead of Simo Valakari’s men.
Despite the league placings, Cowie insists he has reason to be wary of Wednesday’s opponents.
After the sides shared a thrilling 3-3 draw in Dingwall in September, County went on to suffer a 3-0 reverse on their last visit to McDiarmid Park on October 19.
It was a match which saw the Staggies finish with nine men, following the dismissals of Eli Campbell and Charlie Telfer.
Although the Staggies’ form has picked up, particularly since the festive period, Cowie insists his side’s poor display in Perth remains a point of frustration for him.
Cowie said: “Despite losing two players in the game at different times, we didn’t do ourselves justice down there.
“We didn’t enjoy how we started the game, and that was probably the angriest and most frustrated I’ve been this season.
“It wasn’t us, and going into this game that may be something where we ask the players to put that right.”
Cowie remains focused on Staggies’ main objective
County’s recent run of results has moved them to within reach of a top-half place, with only two points separating them from sixth-placed St Mirren.
While he knows a victory over Saints would come as a huge boost to his side’s survival prospects, he is refusing to entertain talk of pushing for a top-six place.
With the Staggies having finished second-bottom in the last two seasons, before coming through the play-offs to survive, Cowie insists improving on their league finish remains the objective.
He added: “The boring answer is that we’re not speaking about it. That’s just me being honest.
“You can see how quickly the league is changing. Three points can have a massive bearing on where you are in the table.
“What I did speak about a couple of weeks ago was that we had played the Old Firm and probably the most in-form team in the country in Hibs.
“At that point, we had eight games before the split, and the challenge was to accumulate as many points as possible.
“We got six points from the first two, and the third game is St Johnstone.
“Genuinely, that is our only focus.
“St Johnstone are where they are in the table, but I still think they are a good, dangerous team.
“I can’t hide away from the fact that if we get three points, the gap becomes really big, but the challenge has always been to improve – especially on last season, when we finished 11th in the league.
“That is still the challenge. It’s still really tight and congested where we are.”
Wright aiming to take further strides with Ross County
Akil Wright believes his career can continue on the upward trajectory that has helped him to blossom with Ross County.
Defender Wright has been among the Staggies’ leading performers this season, after joining on a three-year-deal from Stockport County last summer.
The Englishman has made 32 starts for Don Cowie’s men – missing only one game in all competitions.
While playing his part in a fine run of recent results, which has seen County lose just two of their last nine matches to each side of the Old Firm, Wright has also emerged as a goal threat.
He netted his fourth strike of the season with a stunning acrobatic effort in Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Dundee.
The 28-year-old believes his best has still to come for the Staggies.
Wright said: “It is definitely up there with the best I have played.
“I’m in my prime years so it is important I do showcase myself and show how good I am.
“I feel like I’ve done that this season, but there’s still a lot more I can give, I believe.
“With the results coming at the moment, it makes it even better.
“I feel like I’ve done what I’ve always done, but as I’ve played more and more games it has helped me to show that.”
Defender has worked way towards Scottish top-flight opportunity
Wright was a youth player with Sheffield United, but after being released he made his senior breakthrough as a teenager with English non-league outfit Ilkeston Town.
He went on to win a move to Fleetwood Town, but spent the bulk of his time with the club out on loan in the National League with AFC Fylde, Barrow and Wrexham.
After joining Wrexham permanently and subsequently moving to York City, Wright’s English Football League opportunity arose once again with Stockport in 2022.
Wright helped the Hatters win promotion to League One last season, but instead opted to join the Staggies to test himself in the Scottish Premiership.
He believes he is reaping the benefits of his early exposure to senior football.
Wright added: “I always back myself, wherever I go. I started off in the lower leagues in England and worked my way up.
“Playing men’s football from a young age – with my debut at 16 or 17 – helped me adapt from an early age, rather than being used to playing kids my age.
“At the same time, just having managers that believe in you is so important and I’ve had that here so far. I’m repaying the faith, if you like.”
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