Stuart Kettlewell wants Ross County to build on Hibernian victory
Stuart Kettlewell is hoping to see Ross County generate some festive cheer with four wins in the lead up to Hogmanay.
The Staggies ended a nine-game run without a win when they mounted a second-half fightback to defeat Hibernian last week.
The victory has sent confidence levels soaring in Dingwall and Kettlewell wants to capitalise as they prepare for four massive fixtures in the run-up to New Year.
County host Kilmarnock on Saturday before trips to Livingston and St Johnstone bookend their Boxing Day clash with Motherwell.
And co-manager Kettlewell wants to have something to celebrate when the bells ring out to welcome in 2020.
He told their YouTube channel: “It’s important that you try to group together your points.
“There are tough games and really difficult venues to play at but we showed a massive amount of character to come back from a goal down in the manner we did against Hibs.
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“We probably could have scored another couple in the second half but that all just stems from the belief that we have that we can create chances.
“We put all the aspects, including the foundation of how we defend, together really well for that 45 minutes.
“But now it’s important we try to build on it. We’ve got four big games in the lead up to New Year and it’s massive that we can maximise the number points we take over this period.
“If we can do that everything can turn around and we’ll all start feeling good about ourselves.”
County shipped 23 goals during their miserable run but looked tighter as they ended Jack Ross’ unbeaten start in charge of Hibs.
And he says they will need to maintain that solid defensive display against Angelo Alessio’s team.
He said: “Kilmarnock are for me a well-established side with a lot of quality and experience. At times we may have to be patient to break them down while also being aware they have a threat at the top end of the pitch themselves.
“We want to get back to being a solid defensive unit with a shape that is hard to break down.
“I thought there were signs of that during the second half against Hibs. We want to build on that.
“There’s been negativity about not having won for that period of time but rest assured that the players have been really level headed.
“We took a lot of positivity from that second-half display and it’s imperative we try to build on that on Saturday.”
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