PAUL QUINN believes Ross County’s hunger to improve is fuelling another drive towards groundbreaking success. While some might view the Staggies as having hit a glass ceiling with top-six status and League Cup glory last season, the former Motherwell and Cardiff City defender reckons the story is far from complete.
Club captain Quinn, who returned last season from a brief and unsatisfying spell with Aberdeen, believes boardroom ambitions have mirrored right through the dressing room.
Preparing for the visit of St Johnstone, Quinn spelled out the mood within the Global Energy Stadium. He said: “As players, right through the squad, we want to better ourselves.
“That’s what this club has been about for however many years and that’s not going to change.
“The manager demands more, the chairman demands more, the fans demand more. But the players demand it, too – there’s nobody happy, ever, at standing still in football.
“Ross County are probably among the best examples of that ethos in football at the minute and we want to continue that.
“Among the boys, there is a feeling this is not a journey we’ve completed yet. There’s more to come.
“On a week-to-week basis, with results like the clean sheets away to Rangers and Hearts, we see it as another step forward towards that aim.
“The basics of scoring goals and not conceding, home and away, all add up to that journey.”
County took plaudits for their defiant displays at Ibrox and Tynecastle but, this weekend, are looking to return to the front foot and create more chances having drawn the last three games, netting just once in the last four.
Quinn said: “We deserved praise for not conceding at either of those two grounds, given the attacking threat both those teams pose.
“A lot of it was aimed at the defence, Scott Fox in goals and myself and Dava (Andrew Davies).
“But we know the work that is getting done in front of us, from the strikers to the midfielders, to the wingers – they are a joy to work with when they’re working that hard.
“It makes you want to throw yourself in front of tackles for them and put your body on the line hoping for a ricochet and a bit of luck.
“You want it all the more because those boys are working so hard and then trying to get us up the pitch to create chances, which they’re doing as well.
“It is a good defensive unit we have developed on the training ground and brought it into play in the last two weeks.”
Quinn insists it will be no big step for County to re-adjust and aim to be the team on the front foot against Saints.
He said: “Games take care of themselves. Opposition differs week-to-week.
“We know what St Johnstone are about. We know it will be totally different to Rangers and Hearts, but we go into the match with the same principles – we don’t want to concede and we want to score.
“We didn’t go to Ibrox to gain a draw. We would have taken a draw, but that’s two different statements.
“We went there to try and win the game, knowing we can create chances. St Johnstone will be no different. We will go out looking for a clean sheet and to play well, but ultimately we want to score goals.
“That’s the same target we’ve had the last three weeks and it will be the exact same for the next 30 games, the same motivation.”
Manager Jim McIntyre is without Dutch striker Alex Schalk with a minor medial ligament problem while midfielder Ian McShane is suspended after his Tynecastle double booking.
He said: “When we’ve played with two strikers, the one thing we’ve always done is create chances.
“Matches against St Johnstone have always been tight, but we’ll look to get on the front foot, create more chances and, hopefully, get the victory.”
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