Fraser: County can't catch Killie
Ross County defender Marcus Fraser has admitted his side have no chance of catching Kilmarnock, ahead of the pair's clash in Dingwall on Saturday.
The Staggies occupy 10th position and sit 13 points behind the visitors in eighth, with nine games of the season remaining.
Scotland Under-21 cap Fraser believes Kilmarnock's position is an unrealistic target for County to chase despite taking 13 points from their last five games.
He said: "Kilmarnock have got enough points and done well this season. We're just concentrating on ourselves. If we can get three points on Saturday it's another three points going up the table and looking forward which is what we want as a club."
Former Celtic defender Fraser joined County in January on a six-month deal having been released by the league leaders and the 20-year-old this week signed a two-year extension after impressing in his eight appearances so far.
Fraser added: "My task was to come in and impress straight away and the manager's been happy with me so I want to take the performances each week and keep progressing as a player.
"Hopefully it's the same with everyone else's performances and we can all gel and progress as a team."
Kilmarnock maybe in record-breaking form but winger Chris Johnston remains wary of resurgent Ross County.
The Staggies have won four of their last five games to climb off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership into 10th place.
Killie won 2-1 in the Highlands when the teams met in August but were beaten 3-0 by County at Rugby Park in November even though the visitors were struggling.
And while the Ayrshire side go into the match in fine fettle themselves - their seven-game unbeaten league run is the best since 2000 - the former Kilmarnock youth player anticipates a tough afternoon.
The 20-year-old said: "They won four in a row before their draw at the weekend so we know it is going to be a hard game.
"They are not the same team they were when we beat them up there earlier in the season. They are playing with a lot of confidence.
"It was a poor result for us, 3-0, when they won down here. That was probably our worst performance this season.
"To concede three early goals wasn't very good from our point of view but we know that we can go up there and get a good result.
"We are playing with confidence as well so I think it will be a very good game."
Johnston is enjoying playing without the fear of failure as Gary Locke's side look to move from eighth into the top six before the split.
The former Scotland Under-19 player said: "A lot of boys are playing with confidence now, that is the most important thing.
"I have been told to express myself which is the best thing for a wide player.
"I can go out in the park with no worries about losing the ball, as long as I work hard and keep trying he says the gaffer won't criticise me for it.
"If you are confident you take more chances, you take risks where before you would maybe take the easy pass.
"I just think it is down to confidence. When you take the easy pass you think 'I could maybe have tried something there' but the gaffer has told me to take risks, the gaffer would rather see me lose the ball than play the easy pass.
"We know how good a team we are, good enough to be in the top six.
"We should have more points than we do but we know if we win the next couple of games we could get into the top six."
Source: PA
