Liam Boyce: Ross County are back on track
Ross County striker Liam Boyce feels they are back to their normal selves following a five-match unbeaten run.
The tight nature of the bottom half of the Ladbrokes Premiership is perfectly illustrated by the fact that County sit seventh despite winning only once in 14 matches.
But that victory came recently against St Johnstone and they followed it up with draws against Hamilton, Hearts and Dundee.
Boyce said: "It's just good to get points on the board. Not only that, the way we have been playing we have been back to our old selves. We have been creating a lot of chances and it just comes down to taking them.
"Before, we couldn't seem to score a goal or get a point on the board so it's good to turn that corner and hopefully we can keep building."
County host Aberdeen on Saturday and Boyce feels they deserve to be billed as the best of the rest behind Celtic despite slipping behind Rangers in recent weeks.
"They deserve that title anyway because they have been playing brilliantly for the last coupe of seasons," the Northern Ireland international said.
"They have dangerous players all over the pitch, a lot of pace and players who can do damage in certain situations.
"We know what we are up against on Saturday and we have to nullify that pace."
Aberdeen defender Anthony O'Connor is not overly concerned at losing second spot to Rangers - but he is determined to prove the Dons still mean business over the festive period.
Rangers leapfrogged Aberdeen when the Pittodrie side were preparing for the Betfred Cup final and then consolidated their position with a 2-1 victory over Derek McInnes' men at Ibrox.
The Dons had a strong grip on second during the previous two seasons but O'Connor insists they are not losing their way.
"I will definitely have a look at their result but it's not something I am getting too concerned about at the moment," the Irishman said ahead of Saturday's game.
"We have a game in hand and still have to play them. If we keep playing well and keep picking up points, I think we will be in and around each other come the end of the season.
"It's not going to be easy of course, they are a good team and have good players, but so do we. It's not something I am obsessing over at the minute.
"Of course we want to finish as high as we can and if that's second then so be it, but our focus is on Saturday."
The Dons also face Motherwell, Hamilton and Hearts before the winter break and O'Connor is keen to put the fear factor into their league rivals.
"Every footballer in the league will always look at results and all the results over the season they have probably been thinking that we are a force, because we have won a lot of games by three or four," the 24-year-old said. "We will be looking to do that again over the next three or four games.
"I'm not saying we are going to go out and absolutely batter teams three or four nil but we are looking to put down a marker and say we are by no means done here.
"We are still looking to finish as best as we can."
Source: PAR
