A GOOD few thought they were down - dead and buried.

Ross County's beaten and bloodied squad might have started believing it themselves had it not been for two incessant voices of encouragement echoing around the dressing room. Whatever private doubts they may have held, Jim McIntyre and Billy Dodds never wavered in the positive message to the troops. 'Believe - you're good enough to stay up' was the mantra hammered into the County players relentlessly by the manager and assistant during a bleak, three-month run of 12 matches without victory.

The pay-off has been handsome, with four consecutive victories in the last month equalling the Staggies' previous best top-flight sequence, achieved in February 2013 during a late-season surge of form. Back then, in their debut SPL campaign, County tore up the table late in the campaign to finish fifth. This time around, the hole they have been digging for themselves is deeper and clambering to safety, never mind the top six, will still take a monumental effort.

But ask defender Paul Quinn, County captain in Richard Brittain's absence, to put his finger on the reasons for the transformation and he is emphatic. The stubborn refusal of McIntyre and Dodds to succumb to negativity in outlook has given the Dingwall team a fighting chance of staying up. Quinn, the former Motherwell, Cardiff City and Doncaster Rovers defender, feels the real watershed moment came after the 4-0 thrashing at Pittodrie on February 7. It didn't get much lower than losing so heavily after a promising start to the match, but somehow it only strengthened County's resolve.

"We looked at it and knew we had to do something. If things didn't change we were going down and we told ourselves that. Everyone else thought we were," the 29-year-old said. "So we worked even harder and now we are reaping the rewards of our efforts.

"The crucial moment came after that drubbing at Aberdeen, where I thought we played well for the first 45 minutes.

"In our next few matches, instead of drawing into ourselves and being negative, we took the game to the opposition.

"They were hugely important games - against Motherwell, Partick, Dundee and Partick again - because they were the teams around about us.

"It took a lot of strength and belief to go in with that approach, but we did what the management asked us, pressed teams higher and, drawing on the positivity of the staff here, we got through that period."

Ross County only had three Derek Adams' signings in action against Partick on Saturday, a small statistic that belies the huge turnover in personnel at the Global Energy Stadium since the summer. At times it looked chaotic and scatter-gun, but there was clearly a plan at play, driven by necessity. What they have, now, is a team - and a fighting chance of survival.

"It's been a difficult transition, moving so many players out and in, but the one thing about this club, from the chairman down, is that it's a welcoming place - so it's easy to settle in," Quinn said.

"The difficult part is getting it together on the pitch, but there were a few games when I think we deserved better. Now, though, we are getting results and it's breeding confidence.

"We are taking credit because we've won four in a row but really we are only making up for the previous few months."

Partick fought just as hard, but the Dingwall hosts, overall, had the edge on finesse in a ferocious, ragged contest. The breakthrough after 33 minutes was sparked by some great skill from Raffaele De Vita on the left. The Italian wide man darted inside and crossed to find Liam Boyce chesting down in the box and stretching to smack a shot against the goalkeeper. The parry bounced high to Craig Curran, who deserved immense credit for getting purchase and accuracy on the header to find the corner of the net.

After the break, there was little in it. Both sides had chances but County's cause was aided when the previously excellent Kallum Higginbotham clattered through the back of Michael Gardyne for a straight red. If anything, this only cemented Partick's resolve and the rest of the match was a breathless battle, full of timely blocks and lucky escapes.

County, though, prevailed and the momentum is with them entering the final weeks. For their Glasgow opponents, just one win in the last seven outings is ominous.

For Partick's Stephen O'Donnell, it was a day of disappointment etched all over his face after full-time.

"Unless you're sitting on 35 or so points you should always be feeling pressure," the Scotland under 21 cap said. "You're never safe in any league until you're mathematically sure of staying up, and we haven't managed to do that. We haven't managed to be consistent and it's cost us.

"At times we play good football, but in the last couple of months we just haven't been good enough for large spells of games. "This was was a game where there wasn't much in it, we were on the wrong side of it again and that's happened far too often this season."