Jim McIntyre: Ross County have a ruthless side to them
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They may be relative newcomers to the Ladbrokes Premiership, but Ross County are looking more and more like a top-half outfit.
After looking like they were heading for the drop last season, 10 wins from their final 14 games ensured the Staggies comfortably staved off relegation in May.
They appear to have built on that form this term too, sitting fourth in the table with only Celtic and Hearts inflicting defeats on Jim McIntyre’s side thus far.
The Scot told Ladbrokes News that the roots of this new-look County side’s success lie in the basics of football:
“It’s down to hard work you know. We’re organised as a team and we go into games knowing there’s confidence levels there. When you win a football match the team’s confident.
“I think the basis of that is how hard we’re working, and you also need a wee bit of luck here and there when you’re playing as well. We’ve shown a real ruthless side to us as well in front of goal but we’re equally happy with a couple of clean sheets also.”
At the forefront of that ruthless nature has been Liam Boyce, who claimed a hat-trick in the 7-0 cup win over Falkirk on Tuesday night.
The 24-year-old netted seven times in the final seven games of last season, and already has five Premiership goals this time around. Boyce claimed the winner in the 1-0 win over Partick last weekend and McIntyre is only too happy to praise the Northern Irishman:
“He’s continued where he left off last season. Strikers thrive off scoring goals and Liam’s been doing that very well for us. He’s also a very clever player, very good at finding space, making space for himself to get into those opportunities.”
With a tight defence conceding just twice in the Staggies’ last six games in all competitions, it looks like County have all the ingredients to be regular contenders in the Premiership’s top half.
The Staggies visit Dundee this weekend and are 9/5 to win the match.
The hosts are 7/5 to win at Dens Park while the draw is 23/10.
Boyce is 11/2 to score the opener, and can be backed at 15/8 to net anytime on Saturday.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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