Mackay left ‘satisfied’ as he hails County progress

Ross County manager Malky Mackay was satisfied with the Staggies’ 0-0 draw against St Mirren in Paisley.

County were unable to profit from a succession of first half chances, but had to stand up to sustained spells of Buddies pressure after the break.

The draw moves the Staggies to within two points of second-bottom Livingston, and Mackay feels the result keeps the Dingwall side’s momentum intact.

Mackay said: “I thought in the first half we had two or three really terrific chances and probably dominated the play.

“To be fair to St Mirren they did that in the second half and then it became a bit of a basketball game towards the end with both teams having chances.

“At the end of the day it’s another clean sheet and it’s just one defeat in our last five. It keeps us in touch with the teams above us.

“We’re seven points from sixth position at the moment and I feel we’re playing well.

“St Mirren are a good team who put us under a lot of pressure in the second half but we were calm enough to play the ball out from the back.

“We almost nicked the win at the end. We’ve shown again how far we’ve come as at the start of the season we might have lost that.”

Mackay is content with the progress of his side, who had failed to win any of their opening 10 matches, with the Staggies boss pleased they are beginning to pick up points to show for their efforts.

He added: “I had no doubts that we had to be on our mettle from minute one, which we were. We are going through a tough spell of games. I firmly believe we have a group that’s as good as anything in the league.

“It’s just about that consistency of getting clean sheets, because we always look as if we are going to score.

“Had we not been playing well earlier in the season I would have been much more worried.

“People watching us regularly had been wondering how we were getting beaten.

“It’s just been about the group becoming a bit more focused, taking our chances and keeping it clean at the other end.”

Buddies manager Jim Goodwin bemoaned familiar failings from his team.

He said: “If you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, it’s very simple, you don’t win games of football.

“It’s a far better point for County than us because we should have been out of sight.”