Don Cowie: Ross County squad is strongest it has been all season

Don Cowie believes Ross County’s squad is now the strongest it has been all season as they push to ease their relegation concerns and stay in the hunt for a top-six place in the William Hill Premiership.

The Staggies are currently 10th, two points above 11th and within two points of sixth in a congested section of the table, after winning four and losing only two of their eight league matches since Boxing Day.

Cowie believes their upturn in form is due to a combination of his summer signings starting to find their stride, the swift impact of his January recruits and the return from injury of several players.

“I would say it’s probably the strongest the squad’s looked since the start of the season,” said the Staggies boss, whose side romped to a 3-0 win at Motherwell last weekend.

“I think on Saturday you see the real strength in depth that we’ve got, really good options to come on when we demand people to put a real effort and shift in on the pitch.

“You’re looking and thinking ‘we’ve got really good options to freshen things up’, that was clear to see on Saturday. The squad is in a really good place and I’m really happy with how it’s looking right now.”

County have the chance to move five points clear of the bottom two when they host 11th-placed Dundee on Saturday.

“They’ll be disappointed with the results they’ve had recently, but they are still a team who finished in the top six last year, had a fantastic season with a very good manager,” Cowie said.

“They’ll see it as a real opportunity in terms of where we both are in the league. They know if they can win the game they go above us and that will be a big incentive for them. But we’re in a really good place and we’re looking forward to it.”