Jim Goodwin sat down with the media on Thursday lunchtime as he previewed Saturday’s away trip to the Global Energy Stadium to take on Malky Mackay’s Ross County. To watch in full on RedTV, please click on the red button.

Question: Ross County, you know what you’re gonna get from them, and you will have to match their physcial qualities and their workload from the off?

Answer: “Yeah, most definitely. I’ve never really enjoyed an easy game at Dingwall whether it’s going there as a player or as a manager. You know what you’re going to get. I’ve got a lot of respect for Malky Mackay in terms of the experience that he’s got as a manager. His teams are always very well organised. We’ve got to be up for that battle, there’s no doubt about that. They’ve shown that in games recently that they’re willing to get stuck in. They are quite an aggressive team. They can be direct at times, they’ve got the big number nine, but they’ve also got some very good players in the wide areas, some real pace. I think Malky’s recruitment has been excellent. He’s brought in a lot of young athletes who are very, very quick and very direct. Ross County can cause us a lot of problems if we aren’t as organised or as, as good on the day as what we need to be. We’ll go there and give them the utmost respect but hopefully, it’ll be a positive outcome for us.”

Q: As you mentioned a couple of times, already, Jim, you want the guys to start games better. They seem to be finishing games well, but how confident are you that you can get at them from from the first whistle this weekend in Dingwall?

A: “It’s something that we spoke about. It is difficult to put your finger on why that happens because you know, the preparation during the week is exactly what you would expect it to be. The sports science team, our warm ups are brilliant. Sometimes it’s a mindset thing or a psychological thing. I have to say in the games that we’ve played at home, the opposition and even on Tuesday night there have tended to drop so deep that it’s very difficult to play forward early because there isn’t a great deal of space. We have to try and figure it out and try and come up with the answers. Hopefully we can do that from the first whistle as opposed to maybe waiting 5-10 minutes to get into it.”

Q: What were your thoughts on the League Cup Quarter-final draw?

A: “I have got huge respect for Ian McCall and the job that he’s done at Partick Thistle. I would be lying if I was to sit here and say that it was one of the more favourable ties we could have got. I hope that Partick or Ian don’t think I’am being disrespectful when I say that. You would expect this particular fixture to be a more appealing one than, let’s say, a Celtic or a Rangers. I think every supporter out there and every other manager out there knows what I’m trying to say when I say that, but with that said, we don’t think it’s going to be an easy game. We’re not looking at it as a bye by any stretch. We’re not thinking about Hampden in the semi-finals or anything like that. We’ve got a lot of football to play in the league before that particular game comes around. When it does come around then we will treat Partick Thistle with the utmost respect and we’ll prepare for that one as professionally as what we would do with any other Premier League side.”

Q: How’s your team news?

A: “We’ve actually got a fully fit bunch. The game on Tuesday was a nervy one because of the change of surface. Going from playing on the grass pitches to then playing on the AstroTurf, sometimes it can cause some issues, but thankfully, all of the lads have came through that game pretty much unscathed. Hayden Coulson has made a good recovery from the ankle injury. We were just looking after Hayden. He could have played if we really needed him to, but we felt that it was more beneficial to to keep him off that surface and rest up for Ross County. So apart from Connor Barron and Callum Roberts, the rest of the squad are pretty much where they need to be.”

Q: Finally just on Duk, when he came in, there was a worry about getting him up to speed with his fitness. You must be pleased with him now? He seems really sharp, especially when he came on against Annan.

A: “Absolutely. I think he does deserve a lot of credit. I think his attitude and training has been brilliant. He’s not the most naturally fit of players, he needs a bit of work and Graham Kirk our Sports Scientist has spent a lot of time with him individually. He’s another one who’s just chomping at the bit for a starting position in the team because his last three appearances off the bench, maybe even warrant that. He is trying to compete with a very good player in Miovski. I’m not going to sit here and say we’re never going to play with both of them together. I think the two of them together would be a real handful. I do have that option available to me but at the moment we’re playing with one striker and Bojan has got the jersey. If Duk comes on for half an hour, every week and makes the kind of quality impact that he has been making, then that’ll be more than enough for me.

“I have to compliment all of the substitutes that I’ve made in recent weeks actually because they’ve all made huge impacts not just on Tuesday night but in previous league games as well. Every time we make changes coming off the bench, the player is going on and adds a little bit something different and more often than not adds a bit of quality.”