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OWEN COYLE has set Ross County on a war footing for their “biggest game of the season” by ordering the players in for extra training.
The Staggies boss hammered home the severity of the club’s plight by cancelling the usual Wednesday off following a meek loss to St Johnstone at the weekend.
Saturday’s home clash with relegation rivals Partick Thistle offers the Dingwall men the opportunity to climb off bottom spot on goal difference.
Lose and they’d be cut six points adrift of Partick and at least five behind a Hamilton side with two games in hand.
Before the Perth relapse, County seemed to be on the recovery trail with a fine victory away to Dundee and a strong performance in the home draw against Hearts.
But with just 10 games of an often grim campaign remaining, it’s clear Coyle is in no mood to tolerate a repeat performance.
And he said: “Against St Johnstone we didn’t bring the intensity we had in the two previous games.
“That in-your-face, high intensity approach we showed against Dundee and Hearts wasn’t at the level it should have been. What the players have to understand is when we’re on that field, we give every drop.
“You might not always play well but you have to be seen to give everything you have from your own physicality and mentality to try to win that game.
“That was the source of frustration. We had a big following travel down, spending a lot of money. Every one of us let them down on Saturday.
“That’s hurtful for me. We now have to give everyone a lift and put a smile back on their faces.
“The players know I’ll back them to the hilt but they have to give us something to back them with in terms of quality and endeavour.
“Collectively, we didn’t do that – and I say ‘we’ because I’m the first person I look at in terms of preparation.
“Nothing St Johnstone brought surprised us. We should have been ready for every eventuality. We just didn’t do well enough.
“But football can change quickly. If any of them feel sorry for themselves, they’re no good here at Ross County.
“They have to want to pick themselves up and do something about it.
“There will be no day off this week. They’ll be in getting ready for Saturday, getting their minds focused on a tough but winnable game against Partick.
“By winning that game, we can leapfrog Thistle and start to look up the table.”
Coyle stopped short of calling the Partick clash a “must-win” match.
But he said: “There are still going to be a lot of games to play yet I’d class Saturday as the biggest.
“The opportunity is there, at home, to win those three points and benefit from what that does straight away in terms of league position.
“There’s no doubt about it, this is the biggest game of the season for us – bar none.”
Coyle though has been hit by a fresh injury blow with on-loan Aberdeen midfielder Greg Tansey back on the treatment table.
Tansey, after joining the club in early January, faced a month of intensive treatment on a groin problem before returning for a start against Hearts. But a relapse at McDiarmid Park will rule him out of the Thistle clash at least.
Coyle added: “That probably had a domino effect on the team in Perth, with him unable to get about the park as he normally can.
“Such was his desire to do well for the team, Greg tried to push himself through it when he might have been better served indicating how badly he was feeling it.”