Frozen-out Samuel is vowing to hit goal trail with first-team return

Dominic Samuel is eager to make his case to lead Ross County’s forward line.

Samuel was handed his first start since the opening day of the season when he was given the nod by Malky Mackay for Wednesday’s trip to St Mirren.

Despite a lively attacking performance, Samuel was unable to find the net in the Staggies’ 0-0 draw.

Samuel is still searching for his first goal for the Dingwall men, following his summer move from Gillingham.

The 27-year-old has been keen to catch the eye in his recent substitute outings, but he now hopes for a more sustained run in Mackay’s side.

Samuel said: “It’s kind of a frustrating one as a player, but things can change in football so you’ve always got to stay on point and keep working hard in training.

“When your time comes, you’ve got to make sure you take it.

“When you get on the pitch, whether that’s in the last minute or you’re starting, you’ve got to give 100%.

“I’m grateful I started the game. Hopefully, I can get a run with the amount of games that are coming up.

“I hope I showed what I can do, so hopefully I’ll stay in for the next game.”

County recorded their third clean sheet from their last five games in Paisley, having previously kept just one from their opening 10 matches. With County the fifth highest scorers in the Premiership, Samuel feels his side are beginning to strike the right balance.

He added: “It’s down to the manager. He makes us work hard in training and concentrate on the basics – which is defending.

“It’s another clean sheet, so you can see that once you get the defending side right, the attacking side will come after.

“From where we were at the start of the season to now, I feel like the team is starting to gel.

“We’re starting to look threatening on the counter attack as well, and I think teams are starting to respect us now.

“At some point, all these chances that we’re creating is going to come into one place, and then I feel like the goals will start coming.”

County will move off bottom spot if they defeat an out-of-sorts St Johnstone side at McDiarmid Park tomorrow.

Samuel is encouraged with the progress his side is making in closing the gap below the sides they trail. He added: “We can see that the points are coming in.

“If we’re not winning, at least we’re getting a point on the board, and we’re starting to get closer to the pack.

“We’re going to stick to our normal game plan on Saturday.”

Dominic Samuel, right, says his side are now gelling.