STUART McCALL, the Motherwell manager, senses a determination among his players to turn their season around in Dingwall again.
Motherwell dug out a 2-1 win over Ross County on a torrential afternoon in December last year to bounce back from their shock cup defeat by Albion Rovers and a Fir Park thrashing by Celtic.
They return to the Highlands looking to stop a run of four consecutive defeats against a side without a Premiership point but boosted by the arrival of new management team Jim McIntyre and Billy Dodds.
"Their players will be out to make an impression and I'm sure Jim and Billy will be out to make an impression themselves," said McCall
"It will make it slightly tougher, but when you go through a run like we're going through, it doesn't matter who we are playing. It's what we do as individuals and as a group. We have to be fully focused on our job.
"Last season was a little bit of a turning point going up there. We had been knocked out the cup and been beaten heavily at home to Celtic, and we went up there and got probably a lucky 2-1 victory with a couple of deflected goals. We went on to win six on the bounce so it's something we would like to do again."
McCall, whose injury problems have eased, added: "Listen, just because results haven't been great, it doesn't change the character we have got in the dressing room and the personnel. We have been wanting for a little bit of form, there's no doubt about that, but the character of the lads doesn't change.
"The majority of times, things have gone well for us but there have been times when it's not been good, and that's when you need to stand up and be counted and not feel sorry for yourselves. And there has not been any of that this week in training. We know it will be very, very difficult in Dingwall but I see a determination in the squad to start changing things round."
Steven Hammell and Craig Moore are still absent along with the suspended Fraser Kerr, but the likes of Simon Ramsden are fit again and boosted by a bounce game against Scotland last Wednesday.
Sunderland fan Ramsden found himself up against in-form striker Steven Fletcher, but he benefited from the exercise. "I was just trying to build his confidence up to be honest, just so he can start knocking in some goals for Sunderland," said Ramsden."No, in all seriousness, it was a good experience. Obviously it wasn't quite match-like in that you can't fly into tackles that you would do in a normal match. It was a good workout for the likes of myself, who haven't played much in a while, and some of the other lads who were able to test themselves against guys who are playing in the Premier League week in and week out.
"If you're playing against players of that calibre, it's always going to bring you on. They tend to be a lot sharper, sometimes quicker upstairs, thinking two steps ahead than we are perhaps used to."
McIntyre, meanwhile, is passing on the message to his County team that it is never too early to grasp a victory.
The full scope of the new Ross County manager's ideas may take weeks and months to embed and come to fruition, but the former Dunfermline and Queen of the South manager is hoping for a quick return today against Motherwell.
McIntyre knows it won't be easy - the presence of McCall and his old Airdrie mentor Kenny Black is the opposition camp are enough to remind him of that. But the man paraded by chairman Roy MacGregor only on Wednesday was quick to talk up the talents of both Motherwell and his new County charges yesterday.
"Obviously there's been a lot to do in a short space of time, but everyone has been very welcoming and we've been working hard on the training ground," said McIntyre. "The players' attitude has been exceptional.
"I already know a couple of them but, meeting them as a group, they were a little bit quiet. It's never an easy time when a club loses its manager and someone else takes over. They've got to get to know me and how me and my staff work and, likewise, I've got to get to know them.
"But there's been a positive reaction in training and they're taking on board some early stuff. It's important we don't flood them with too much information, too soon - and we let them breathe.
"We have been with the players for three days now so I feel we're ready for the game. We're at home. It's up to us to try to put on a positive performance and get the guys going."
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