Repeat of last year would buoy Boyd
Ross County defender Scott Boyd believes the struggling Staggies can mount the same kind of late charge that took them to the top six last season.
Derek Adams' side sit third bottom of the Scottish Premiership with just three league wins.
It is a similar predicament to the one the Dingwall outfit faced 12 months ago before an 11-game unbeaten run stretching from Boxing Day to mid-March dragged them into the top half of the table.
Now with Kilmarnock set to visit the Global Energy Stadium on Saturday, Boyd insists County still have time to repeat the act.
He said: "We know how important this game is. Killie are round about us in the table but we have a game in hand and this match is a chance for us to pull further clear and get closer to the middle of the table where we want to be.
"We had a tough start but we still have a long way to go. We have a lot of quality in the changing room but there are now a lot of games coming up with the busy festive period and that's a chance for us to move up a few positions and get to a place in the league where I think Ross County should be.
"It's a lot like this time last season. We were down in the lower positions at this stage but things changed so quickly. In this division, a couple of results can move you up a few rungs and that's what we want to do again."
County brought in six new signings during the summer to replace eight departures and Boyd believes that turnover may have detribalised the Highland outfit.
However, he also admits that excuse is now wearing thin.
He said: "We had a big turnover during the season so it has been a transitional phase.
"But then a lot of teams have had the same situation. It might have taken us a bit of time to get used to it but now we are into December time and we all know each other. It's time for us to start putting points on the board."
Kilmarnock head into the weekend action aiming to halt a run of four successive defeats, including last week's 5-2 loss to Dundee United in the William Hill Scottish Cup.
Celtic loanee Jackson Irvine said: "We've got a good mentality within the squad and we don't let the bad results affect the dressing room.
"We all just move our focus to next Saturday and that's the priority now. We have to focus on tightening up at the back and stop losing easy goals."
He does not believe confidence has been affected ahead of Saturday's clash.
He added: "I can't speak for all the boys but as a collective I don't think the confidence has dropped at all.
"We still go into every game knowing we are capable of beating just about any team in this league on our day.
"We had two positive results against Hearts and Ross County in a row and then we were a bit unlucky at Inverness the following week.
"Each week, I still feel we give a really good account of ourselves and probably haven't deserved to lose as many games as we have.
"Hopefully we can get another positive result on Saturday to take into the Christmas period."
Source: PA
