Malky Mackay urges Ross County to 'trust the process' ahead of tricky trip to Dundee United

Ross County manager Malky Mackay has assured his players their elusive first win will come if they keep doing the right things every day.

Malky Mackay. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

County are level on three points with bottom club Dundee after a particularly difficult first seven matches in the cinch Premiership campaign, facing last season's top five teams plus unbeaten Hearts and in-form Motherwell.

Their quest for victory gets no easier on Saturday when they travel to Tannadice to take on fifth-placed Dundee United.

County had the bulk of the chances in last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Motherwell and Mackay showed his players evidence of their positive play when they reconvened this week, urging them to "concentrate on the process, not the outcome".

His advice to players continued: "Concentrate on the day to day and what eventually happens takes care of itself.

"Keep working the way you are at training and it will come."

Mackay added: "My whole career, there are times where you see the team are playing reasonably well - as a player, manager or coach.

"If you keep sticking to those good habits and have a good group of people who are committing to it, which this group are, then it will come. And it does.

"You have got to have belief that excellence comes from consistently doing the correct things every day. It's as simple as that. You keep doing it every day, repetition of a high standard, eventually the outcome will happen."

Opposite Mackay in the technical areas will be another manager with an eye on the longer term in Thomas Courts.

United have started the season strongly with highlights including wins over Rangers and Dundee and holding Celtic at Parkhead. That draw included 16-year-old Kerr Smith and another Tannadice youth product, Declan Glass, could return against the Staggies after injury.

Courts has no fears in pitching in the youth players because, he believes, the club’s senior players provide a strong foundation for their progress.

"I have an obligation to play talented young players who are ready to add value to the first team. We are doing that, in a calculated way just now, but I think a large part is because the senior players are performing so well. There’s a strong foundation for young players to come in, play with freedom and perform.”

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