Jordan White insists Ross County must keep cool heads after slipping into the relegation play-off spot with four matches remaining.
The Staggies opened their post-split campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, which saw them fall three points adrift of Derek McInnes’ men.
County were also leapfrogged by Dundee, who moved two points clear of them in 10th spot courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle.
Alarmingly the defeat in Ayrshire was the Staggies’ fifth loss on the bounce, with their last triumph a 1-0 home victory over Killie on March 1.
Forward White insists the Staggies are not panicking, as they aim to avoid a third successive relegation play-off.
White said: “We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves.
“We’ve been there before and we don’t want to be there again. It’s only us that can change it.
“It’s still in our own hands. There are 12 points to play for. If we look after ourselves, it doesn’t matter what anybody else does around us.
“Obviously, we have lost against Kilmarnock. As the weeks go on, you don’t want to keep saying the same things.
“We know where we are – we’re very aware of it. We don’t want to panic.”
County need to ignite another winning run
The Staggies’ next opportunity to get back on the points trail comes when they host Hearts on Saturday.
The Jambos parted ways with head coach Neil Critchley following the defeat to Dundee, with Liam Fox due to take interim charge this weekend.
White insists a favourable result can spark momentum at a time when the Staggies need it most.
He added: “We’ve got a tough game again next week, but we’re at home.
“It’s going to be a battle. It’s not going to be easy at all, but we’ve got a lot of belief in the dressing room.
“We’ve had really good runs during the season. At the New Year, and a few weeks back, we had four-game spells where we picked up a lot of points.
“That’s the message to the boys. We’ll be trying to drive that in the dressing room.”
Staggies ‘lost their way’ in Ayrshire
White felt his side paid the price for a lack of goal threat against Killie, who triumphed courtesy of a goal in each half from Bruce Anderson and Liam Donnelly.
Nevertheless, the 33-year-old believes the margins were fine on the day.
He added: “To be fair, sometimes you get too caught up in the result.
“In the first half, I didn’t think there was much in it.
“I thought we had good control of the ball, without creating as much as we would have liked.
“We probably didn’t put the ball in the box enough, and didn’t make them defend enough, but we felt comfortable.
“Once the first goal went in we lost our way a wee bit and didn’t really recover.
“Obviously, we lose the second one and it’s an uphill battle from there.
“Sometimes when you’re in a rut or whatever, things don’t go your way, but it’s a hard place to come as well. Kilmarnock are not an easy team.
“We’ve just got to keep believing that it will turn and when it does, we’ll hopefully pick up enough points.
“We’ve got to move on from it quickly.”
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