County ace Laidlaw on bid to land Europe slot

Ross Laidlaw insists another big push is required in order for Ross County to secure European qualification.

The Staggies are fifth in the Premiership with four games remaining, following their 2-0 loss to Celtic on Sunday.

County’s current league position would be enough to clinch a place in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, with the team finishing sixth missing out.

The Dingwall men sealed their place in the top-half with an excellent run of form, which saw them win six of their 13 matches after the winter break.

Goalkeeper Laidlaw says the Staggies have no intention of slacking off in the final weeks of the campaign.

Laidlaw said: “There are four games to go and we just need to keep pushing. It’s between us, Dundee United and Motherwell.

“There are two teams who can get into Europe and we are hoping we could be one of them.

“Where we were at the start of the season when we hadn’t won in 10 games, the turnaround has been unbelievable.

“The stats after those 10 games show we are just behind Celtic and Rangers, so, hopefully, we can keep it going.

“There’s no point in doing that and then switching off in the last games. We need to keep pushing on until the end.”

Laidlaw says the quality of Ange Postecoglou’s side shone through, adding: “I think we probably gave Celtic too much respect in the first half and they had a few chances.

“In the second half, we limited them to very few and you could see we were trying to get a goal, but it wasn’t to be. Celtic are a top team.

“They are a totally different team from last year and they have confidence with a great squad.”

County face another difficult fixture on Saturday, when they make the trip to third-placed Hearts.

The two sides shared a 1-1 draw at Victoria Park earlier this month, during which Laidlaw saved a penalty from Barrie McKay.

Laidlaw insists the Staggies’ confidence will not be dented by their loss to Celtic, adding: “We knew it was going to be hard as Celtic are in top form in the league and you can see they are a really good football team with the way they played.

“We won’t be disheartened by the result.

“It’s a big game against Hearts. We played them here recently and drew, so we know it will be a big game and, hopefully, we can go down there and try to get something from it.

“There aren’t many games to go and there’s a big one next week, so that will decide what happens.”