Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell is happy to reinforce the positives that surrounds the club right now – as long as it does not turn to complacency in his squad.

The Staggies continued their prolific season so far with a 7-1 win over Queen of the South last weekend, meaning they have already scored more than 80 goals across all competitions in 2026/27.

That saw them reach the quarter finals of the League Cup, ease into the knockout stages of the KDM Evolution Trophy as a seeded side, and sit at the top of the League One table.

In a sport where so often negativity dominates headlines, it means there is plenty of positivity in Dingwall, and Kettlewell has made a point of reiterating that to his players ahead of a home match against Airdrieonians this weekend.

“In this world of football you’re always searching for perfection, but it’s also important that you acknowledge when you’re performing well and doing things right,” he said.

“This week we’ve been trying to highlight our strengths to ourselves, and acknowledge that we’re doing well.

“As a coach you always tend to want to focus on weaknesses to improve them, but it’s also important to highlight strengths and see what you’re good at.

“There has been a lot of talk in the last week in Scottish football about the negatives and the pressure on players and managers, but you need to tell players when they’re doing well.

“We need to warn against complacency. We can’t just expect to step on to the park and be free scoring and win games, but it’s quite nice to show the players what they’re doing well and continue that feel-good factor.”

Being a face off between the two sides who were relegated from the Championship into League One this season, Airdrieonians’ trip to Dingwall would have been tipped to be a potential title clash in pre-season.

While the Staggies raced to the top of the table, Airdrieonians had a slower start before going on a good from the start of September.

On the horizon for County is a home match against second-placed Hamilton on Tuesday night, but as ever Kettlewell is not getting carried away by the stakes of his team’s next two games.

"I genuinely don't think these games are any bigger,” Kettlewell stressed.

"Getting off to a good start was so important for us, so those matches were big. Both of our games against Airdrieonians so far were big matches too.

"It's not about putting any more importance on it, it's just getting the message across of what you're going to face and what you think can work and be successful.

"I can assure you that the thought process going into Montrose and Queen of the South was exactly the same as it is going into Airdrie, which again speaks to consistency.

"If we over-emphasise something, it can lead to apprehension and poor decisions.

"Simply, as football players, you should want to be at the sharp end of it where you know you are coming up against a difficult task. The result will depend on how you perform.”

Dean Cornelius (hip flexor), Adam Forrester (ankle) and Andrew Macleod (muscle) will all definitely miss Saturday’s match.

Several others, including Ross Docherty (calf) and Lewis Reid (back), are doubts and will be subject to late assessments ahead of the weekend.