De Leeuw looks to improve Ross County contribution

The forward was among ten new arrivals following the major upheaval in Dingwall that was inspired by County’s fifth-placed finish last season.

De Leeuw, who was among four Dutch arrivals, feels he has begun to find his feet after the initial acclimatisation period.

County have kept clean sheets in successive Scottish Premiership games ahead of the visit of Dundee United tomorrow, a 3-0 win over St Mirren and a positive performance in a 0-0 draw at Easter Road.

De Leeuw said: “I feel better and better. In the beginning you must settle in and get used to most things. That’s important. Now everyone is settled in so we can only get better now.”

The 25-year-old – who arrived from Dutch second-tier champions SC Cambuur – is looking to improve his contribution to the team. De Leeuw has made five appearances so far but has only started one game, the 4-0 defeat by St Johnstone.

“If you are a footballer, you want to play and not sit on the bench,” he said. “I must score goals and make assists if I come in. If I do that then I will be delighted for myself and the team.”

Ross County manager Derek Adams can name an unchanged squad. His only injury concern was over Alex Cooper but the young midfielder has not featured in recent weeks anyway.

United, on the other hand, are without suspended Gavin Gunning and Mark Millar. Winger Ryan Dow has recovered from a recent groin injury.

Manager Jackie McNamara does not want to see his side drop their passing game at Victoria Park, despite knowing they face a team who are renowned for their strength and difficulty to break down.

McNamara said: “It’s never easy against a team like County.

“They always make themselves hard to beat and are usually solid at the back.

“That’s what a lot of their success is based upon but we will be attempting to do what we think we are good at.

“That means we’ll be trying to get the ball down and pass it around quickly.

“The last thing we want is to be sucked into some sort of battle and have to play percentage football because of that.

“That’s not what we’re good at so we’ll want to avoid that.

“I believe we’ve got quality players capable of knocking things around, which is what we’ll be focusing on.”