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Neale Cooper hopes his Ross County side dust away the cobwebs and return to winning form against in-form East Stirlingshire at Victoria Park tonight.
Cooper put County's 3-3 draw with Albion Rovers at the weekend down to a lack of games this year.
County still top Division 3 and, although they have stuttered this year with one win in five games, the rest of the chasing pack has failed to capitalise.
Cooper said: "I thought we looked a bit rusty and it is probably down to the fact we hadn't played for a couple of weeks.
"The players know they did not perform. We lost a couple of bad goals, but these things happen and it was unfortunate.
"Now we have got to try and pick up and be more aggressive and stronger. I am looking for an all-round improvement and I will make changes.
"We are up at the top of the Third Division on merit and there is no point in thinking ahead to the end of the season because we haven't crossed the finish line yet and we won't get there by being negative, so we will have to attack teams and defend well at the same time."
Defender Dave Mackay is a doubt after picking up a knock at Cliftonhill and Cooper will consider throwing in recent signing Craig Tully into his squad.
East Stirlingshire have won their last four games and handed out a painful 4-1 defeat to promotion hopefuls Brechin City at Firs Park on Saturday.
Cooper said: "I see they have been saying they are ready to take us on, but I'm sure their comments will just fire up our players."
Shire manager Hugh McCann welcomes back Brown Ferguson, who captained the Scottish schools under-18 side which lost 2-1 to Wales at the weekend, but Andrew Storrar and Billy McNeill are definitely out as they are both unavailable through work commitments.
McCann said: "We drew against County the last time we played them at Firs Park, and only lost 1-0 to a late goal when we last played in Dingwall.
"We are trying to build up a run like we did earlier in the season when we went 10 games undefeated, although a lot of those results were draws. However, now we are converting our chances and, hopefully, we can go on a run and win more games."
St Johnstone boss Sandy Clark could be set to move for the young Ross County striker Neil Tarrant after watching the player turn in a starring performance in the Dingwall side's win over East Stirlingshire on Tuesday night.
The 19-year-old has already been attracting interest from English First Division strugglers Huddersfield Town and County already accept that they may be unable to hold on to the Englishman - signed just over a year ago from Shamrock Rovers - beyond the tenure of his contract which expires this summer.
Saints boss Sandy Clark was reluctant to comment on the possibility of a deal yesterday, but did admit that he had been impressed by the player in the win over his former Hearts assistant Hugh McCann's side.
Clark said: "We never comment on specualtion about players we're supposedly chasing and there's nothing more to this than talk.
"Billy Kirkwood and I did take in that match in Dingwall just to keep tabs on things in the Third Division and the lad Tarrant had a good game but there's nothing more to it than that."
Ross County yesterday signed former Dundee United UEFA Cup finalist Paul Kinnaird from First Division strugglers Stranraer for a modest fee.
County manager Neale Cooper is likely to hand Kinnaird, 32, his debut against Berwick Rangers at Victoria Park, Dingwall, tomorrow.
Kinnaird, who played in United's two-leg UEFA Cup final clash with Gothenburg in 1987, knocked back Falkirk and Hamilton to join County.
He said: "A couple of hours with the County chairman yesterday convinced me that I'm joining a big club with big ambitions and that I'm making a definite step up by coming here from Stranraer.
"I've wanted to get back into full-time football for a couple of years and I've worked very hard to get myself as fit as I've probably ever been. I was in Iceland last summer and played in their cup final and in the UEFA Cup.
"I played with Neale (Cooper) at Dunfermline and I had a spell at Partick Thistle with Alex Taylor, so I appreciate the quality of players Neale has brought here. I'm looking forward to getting involved.
"My aim is to help County stitch up the Third Division title and help them get into and out of the Second Division and on into the First Division."
High-flying County are already within striking distance of the Third Division title but Cooper stressed that the recruitment of his former Pars clubmate on a two-year contract has been completed with an eye on next season.
He said: "Paul is a quality acquisition - a genuinely two-footed player with vast experience and a superb fitness level who can play in a wide range of positions up front or in midfield.
"He has been a regular man-of-the-match award winner with Stranraer this season and when I heard he was available for a bargain fee because his contract had only a few weeks left, I didn't need to give the idea of bringing him to Victoria Park much thought at all.
"He has already made an impact here today in his first training sessions, taking the younger players under his wing, and he is the sort of experienced guy who will be a major asset in the dressing-room."
Kinnaird, who had failed signing talks with Caley Thistle a year ago after he scored both of the Stranraer goals which beat Press and Journal Highland League Fraserburgh in a Scottish Cup tie at Stair Park, started his career with Norwich City as a teenager.
He then joined Dundee United before moving to Motherwell in a £20,000 transfer deal and then St Mirren for £250,000.
Spells in the Premier Division with Partick Thistle and Dunfermline followed before he helped Ayr United and Stranraer win Second Division titles in successive seasons.
Neale Cooper's knack of raising a dressing room laugh was legendry. So it is saying something when the Ross County manager rates the new signing paul Kinnaird as "possibly the funniest man in football". Kinnaird has already made an impact both on and off the playing field.
After an impressive debut in which Ross County out-classed a bedraggled Berwick Rangers, Cooper said of Kinnaird, "He has come straight into the side and looked a different class.
"The boys all love him, he walked into the changing room and started ripping into his new team-mates straight away."
But Cooper knows Kinnaird is more than just a joker, on the pitch he is deadly serious.
The 32-year-old former Dundee United player has channelled his past regrets into a new, super-positive approach to fitness and football. Cooper continued, "He has calmed down in a lot of ways, his attitude to football has changed but he has retained the creativity and the arrogance.
Kinnaird was delighted with his debut performance and said, "I've joined a superb wee club and I think I will really enjoy the style of football here. Neale Cooper likes to play good football, that suits me perfectly."
Kinnaird's former team-mate Alex Taylor earned the man-of-the-match award as County dismantled Berwick in two cutting sorties - firstly in a two-goal spell in the opening seven minutes and then a four-goal romp shortly after half time.
Neil Tarrant opened the scoring for County in the second minute when he swept home the rebound from a Steve Ferguson shot. Five minutes later, Kinnaird made his mark with a swivel and cross which John McGlashan stabbed home. County kick-started the second half with four goals in seven minutes. On 52 minutes McGlashan deflected a Roy McBain drive past the 'keeper, and three minutes later Taylor thundered in a shot from just outside the area.
Tarrant hit his second a minute later, nipping past his marker sweetly. David Ross was rewarded in 61 minutes when he headed home a Kinnaird corner.
Ross County will take a huge stride towards the Third Division title if they beat Brechin City at Victoria Park tonight, but manager Neale Cooper is taking nothing for granted.
There may not be any talk yet of the league title in the County dressing-room, but three points would see them 15 points ahead of Stenhousemuir at the top and also further dent Brechin's chances of promotion.
However, Cooper is wary of Brechin's potential to get a result, despite a disastrous run of results, while County were in rampant form at the weekend, hitting Berwick for six.
Cooper said: "Both sides will be fighting for different reasons. We want to stay at the top and this will be Brechin's last chance to get back up there.
"We can't be complacent and have to make sure all our players are up for the game. We played some of our best football against Berwick and I hope it continues."
The last time Brechin visited Dingwall, they stole the points with a late winner, which left Cooper reeling.
Brechin manager John Young has hit out at the Scottish League because the game, which was previously postponed, has been rearranged for tonight.
The Glebe Park boss wanted their clash with the Third Division leaders to be played on Saturday, March 27, when Scotland play Bosnia in the Euro 2000 qualifiers, but the league insisted the game be played in midweek.
Young, whose side have failed to win in their last seven outings, said: "This decision is costing our club hundreds of pounds. It is time the wishes of the smaller clubs were taken into account.
"What would be wrong in two clubs like ours playing on March 27. I don't care if the international is live on television. Saturday is a football day and I am sure we would have got more to attend our game than will be at it in midweek.
"We have got to pay loss of earnings to our players for getting off work early tomorrow and might have to pay some of them for not getting to their jobs on time early on Wednesday morning if we are held up."
Cooper isn't bothered when the game is played. He said: "We have gone down to Berwick in midweek and you don't hear us complaining. The league committee have set the date and we will play any side any time."
Cooper is unlikely to make any changes from the side which defeated Berwick, although Mark Haro is a doubt with a hip injury.
Brechin have Steve Campbell doubtful with a groin strain.
We've all had them: those unsolicited calls of early evening offering anything from a new kitchen to a holiday in the Caribbean with a luxurious time-share thrown in.
But Neale Cooper resisted the temptation to hang up his phone when, little more than a year ago, a person unknown rang up with the hope of interesting him in something different again.
"Would you fancy taking a look at a young player just released by Darlington?" the voice enquired.
"Does he realise how far north Dingwall is?" the Ross County manager responded.
On being assured that he did, and satisfied that the lad appeared to have some measure of promise, Cooper followed up with the invitation to put him on the next train for Inverness.
The rest is history unfolding before our eyes, the player in question being one Neil Tarrant whose 22 goals this season, including last night's against Brechin, make him the country's leading scorer after Henrik Larsson.
Coventry City, stewarded by Cooper's former playing partner at Aberdeen, Gordon Strachan, are the latest club believed to be monitoring the progress of the 19-year-old who may well be eligible for Scotland's Under-21s.
Cooper revealed yesterday that they could have competition from Huddersfield Town and confirmed the attention being paid by St Johnstone, who watched the lad score against East Stirling last midweek.
It's not so long ago, of course, that top clubs on either side of the border had virtually given up on trawling Scotland's lower divisions for talent.
Yet attitudes may be changing, or the talent is re-emerging, what with Blackburn Rovers having agreed a few weeks ago to sign two St Mirren teenagers, Burton O'Brien and David McNamee, in a deal that could be worth up to £2million for the Paisley club.
Middlesbrough, too, have thought enough of Stirling Albion's 17-year-old Steven Nicholas to take him on trial before the turn of the year and currently are believed to be tracking Partick Thistle's 18-year-old defender Martin Lauchlan.
"We have that many scouts coming to our place that it is hard to keep tabs on them," Cooper admitted cheerfully, "and we would never do anything to stop a young player from progressing in the game.
"Our policy is to give boys a platform to show what they can do and already we've sold Derek Adams to Motherwell for £180,000, the record transfer for a player in the Third Division."
What price Ross County, currently leading that division by a distance, get still more for Tarrant whose cv reveals a brief spell with Shamrock Rovers as well as a sojourn in France where he trained with Auxerre?
He is 6ft tall, blessed with a burst of pace as well as a left foot which can fire goals from any distance, and his haul of goals this term includes hat-tricks against Albion Rovers, Queen's Park and Queen of the South.
"We first tried him out in a friendly against Clach last winter and, although Neil looked a bit raw, we could see his potential," Cooper admitted. "Derek Adams' waygoing gave us the chance to play him on a regular basis and we've since extended his contract by two years."
So how come Tarrant, born in the north-east of England, might be available to Scotland?
"It started as a joke," Cooper confessed. "Then Neil said that he had a Scottish background; a granny or something. I've passed his name on to Alex Smith who might be interested for the Under-21 team."
It would appear then that not only Ross County could benefit from the unexpected call which Cooper received late in 1997 from the person touting young Tarrant's services.
"The guy was a stranger to me, although he came from Scotland and seemed to be a family friend," Ross County's manager recalled. "I think he'd been in touch with a few clubs. Neil's living up here now and is one of our full-timers.
"I still think he got a bit of a shock at how far away we are from Darlington. He couldn't have landed any further north, unless he'd gone to play for Wick."
St Johnstone have joined the race to sign Ross County's leading goalscorer Neil Tarrant.
McDiarmid Park manager Sandy Clark has been tracking the 19-year-old who took his goal tally to 22 for the season against Brechin City in mid-week. In that game County extended their lead to 15 points over Stenhousemuir in second place as the race for promotion is coming to a satisfactory conclusion for the Dingwall side.
The English teenager, born in Darlington, joined Ross County 15 months ago from Irish club Shamrock Rovers and has been attracting the attention of several clubs from both sides of the border.
Clark sees Tarrant as an investment on young talent for the future as he has already splashed out £120,000 to lure John-Paul McBride from Celtic.
Ross County's march to the Third Division title gathered pace with a fighting 3-2 away victory over a Cowdenbeath outfit, who had shaken the champions elect with two early goals on Saturday.
County lead the Third Division table by 17 points and need only four points to clinch promotion.
County boss Neale Cooper revealed that a half-time pep talk had worked wonders.
He said: "I had a few words to say to a few players at the break and those I spoke to certainly reacted positively in the second period."
The Blue Brazil silenced the travelling County fans with Graeme Brown's 19th-minute 15-yard strike, and worse was to follow for the Dingwall men when Willie Stewart stabbed the ball into the net for the second.
Within three minutes the Third Division's leading scorer, Neil Tarrant, threw County a lifeline when he notched his 23rd goal of the season, sliding the ball into the net from close range.
Soon after the break Ross County equalised when Alex Taylor's corner bounced off Cowdenbeath's defender Les Mitchell for an own goal.
Seventeen minutes from time County's persistence paid off when Ian Maxwell headed the winner to keep County firmly on track to lift the title.
Ross County bosses have played down the prospect of a Third Division title party in Dingwall this weekend with the visit of Dumbarton.
The runaway league leaders are a huge 17 points clear of closest challengers Stenhousemuir and can wrap up either the title or promotion if results go their way this Saturday.
Only Stenhousemuir and Brechin City can catch County. Those two sides are both away from home at the weekend, with the Warriors at Albion Rovers and City across the border at Berwick Rangers.
If both fail to win, and County beat the Sons at Victoria Park, Neale Cooper's side will be crowned champions. Even if only one of the two fails to win, County will still secure promotion if they beat the managerless Boghead outfit.
But County boss Cooper refuses to countenance any premature partying, saying: "We never expect other teams to do us any favours and the players will just look at the next game and hope it can take us that bit closer to promotion.
"It could be a massive game and it would be nice to do it in front of our own fans, but the players will just be told to go out and do what they are best at."
One man who will miss the match against Dumbarton is Roy McBain, who was red-carded at Cowdenbeath and is suspended. Youngster Steven McKay will step in.
County expect a bigger turn-out than usual, but don't anticipate filling their 5,000-plus capacity Victoria Park and have no plans to make the game all-ticket.
Vice-chairman Donald MacBean said: "We expect a bigger crowd than the 1,700 to 2,000 we've been steadily pulling in this season, but our capacity should be able to handle it.
"Even if we win, we've still got to rely on Brechin or Stenhousemuir slipping up."
Ross County manager Neale Cooper hopes his side's hard work and endeavour throughout the season will be rewarded with the Third Division title tomorrow.
It has been a long wait for Cooper after missing out on promotion in previous years, but the reality is they are on the verge of moving up a league.
Dumbarton are the visitors to Victoria Park tomorrow and if results go their way, County will be crowned champions.
Cooper's side are 17 points ahead and, if promotion rivals Stenhousemuir and Brechin City fail to win and County beat the Sons, they can clinch the title with six games remaining.
Cooper said: "The players have worked hard throughout the season and the players are all in good form at the moment.
"We have shown a lot of character and have had a good season by reaching the quarter finals of the League Cup and doing well in the Scottish Cup.
"It would be lovely to cap the season by doing it at home in front of our own fans, but it is a difficult game for us."
After a blistering start to the season with eight wins in a row, many observers thought the bubble had burst when County lost their next four.
However, the Dingwall side regained their confidence and have surged away from the rest of the division in recent weeks.
Dumbarton have proved difficult opponents for County in the past.
Cooper said: "We have got to win the game and we will do our best. We had that sticky patch when we lost four games, but they showed a lot to come back from that. I told the players at the time they can't go from a good team to a bad team in the space of a month and they did well to get over it."
Ross County would never admit it, but the champagne is sure to be on ice somewhere in the vicinity of Victoria Park this afternoon, when victory for the Dingwall men over Dumbarton would earn them promotion to Division 2.
If Brechin City lose at Berwick Rangers and Stenhousemuir go down to Albion Rovers, County would also be crowned champions tonight.
Boss Neale Cooper was taking nothing for granted last night. He said: "It's all ifs and buts at the moment. Obviously, we hope that results elsewhere go our way but we'll be concentrating on our own game and as usual we expect a tough game against Dumbarton."
Roy McBain was sent off in last week's Central Park clash and is suspended for this afternoon's tussle, paving the way for Kenny Gilbert to make a return to the County midfield.
There is a doubt over Steve Ferguson's fitness and 17-year- old Steve MacKay is added to the squad.
Alex Taylor admitted he could not explain Ross County's poor performance in the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Dumbarton at the weekend.
The County midfielder and his teammates will now have to wait until a week on Saturday when they visit Brechin before they can clinch the championship or promotion.
Taylor was adamant that they did not go into the game with a complacent attitude, after seeing their unbeaten 19-match run ended.
He said: "I have no idea what happened. We were certainly ready for it and knew how important the game was.
"There was definitely no nerves either, so I can't think of a valid reason other than we had an off day and Dumbarton played well.
"Now we don't have a game until a week on Saturday, so it would have been nice to have wrapped things up at the weekend."
County manager Neale Cooper has not spoken about winning the title and does not want a heartache repeat of previous seasons where they have narrowly missed promotion on the last day of the season.
However, the difference this season is the massive 14-point gap ahead of second-placed Stenhousemuir, but Taylor also reflected caution.
Taylor said: "We do have a couple of hard games ahead and I know Brechin especially will be difficult to beat.
"We are more than capable of winning the league ourselves and I would rather we did it sooner rather than later.
"I was at the club when we lost out on the last day a year ago and I hope it doesn't happen again.
"We deserve to win it this year because we have put in a lot of effort."
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Caledonian Thistle will be looking to win their fourth Inverness Cup in row by beating Ross County at Caledonian Stadium tonight.
Both sides are flying high in their respective divisions and both will field strong sides for the game (7.30pm).
Caley boss Steve Paterson will not risk Charlie Christie and Paul Cherry, as both players are on the 15 points disciplinary mark and are one booking away each from a ban.
Caley's Canadian full back Richard Hastings is at a training camp in Germany for his country and will miss the match.
However, Thistle will give on-loan Celtic youngsters Gary Nicol and Scott Kellacher starting places.
Paterson is expecting a tough game from the Third Division league leaders.
He said: "The two teams don't see each other much, so it brings back some local rivalry, which is good for the players and the supporters.
"It's a one-off game and I hope the players go out and enjoy themselves."
County will only be without Mark Haro, who has work commitments. Manager Neale Cooper is hoping his side can get revenge for last year's 2-0 defeat in the competition and give the club some silverware to boost his player's after the weekend defeat to Dumbarton.
Cooper said: "Inverness are a very strong side and they have proved it in the Second Division.
"It is a good game for the locals and we hope to make up for the disappointment of last weekend.
"We know we can play better than what we did and it would be a big plus if we could win this trophy."
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Ross County's highly rated striker Neil Tarrant will head for Birmingham on Monday morning to begin a week's trial with leading English Premiership side Aston Villa.
County boss Neale Cooper plucked the 19-year-old from virtual obscurity after he was freed by Darlington at the end of last season, and the chance to mix with multi-million pound footballers is a dream-come-true for the likeable youngster.
Tarrant said last night: "I am just delighted to get the chance to go down to Villa. The boss told me that John Gregory had asked for me to come down to train with the first team, including players like Mark Bosnich, Dion Dublin and Gareth Southgate.
"It's brilliant for Ross County to let me go down but the boss said if it was any other club apart from Aston Villa he wouldn't have been keen for me to go, but as he played there himself he knows it's a great set-up."
County manager Neale Cooper was at Villa Park under Graham Taylor and is happy to let Tarrant experience a taste of the big time.
Cooper said last night: "Aston Villa have taken an interest in the lad. He has a great attitude to the game and has all the attributes to go further.
"He loves training, rarely gets injured and his 24 goals this season are testimony to his striking ability."
Tarrant revealed that he had already passed the scoring target set for him by the Dingwall outfit at the start of the season.
He said: "The boss gave me a target of 20 goals and I've already beaten that. It would be nice to get on the scoresheet in the cup final tomorrow night against Caley Thistle, especially as my mum and dad are travelling up from Darlington to see the game."
Ross County's ace marksman will return to Dingwall next Thursday to prepare for the crucial top-of-the-table clash with Brechin City at Glebe Park a week tomorrow.
As the English signing deadline expired last night there is no immediate prospect of a big time move to Villa Park for the exciting goal scoring prospect.
However, Tarrant added: "I'll do my best and you never know what might happen."
Ross County sold fellow striker Derek Adams to Motherwell early in the season for a fee believed to be in the region of £170,000.
The price on Tarrant's head is sure to exceed that figure.
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Rival managers Steve Paterson and Neale Cooper will back their respective Caley Thistle and Ross County squads to ensure a day of double celebration in the Highlands on Saturday.
Both clubs are vying to become the first senior side in Scotland to win promotion this season.
Third Division leaders County travel to Glebe Park to face third-placed Brechin City.
Victory would prevent John Young's side from catching the Dingwall outfit, guaranteeing County of at least second place and promotion. If other results go in their favour, they could also clinch the championship title.
However, perhaps mindful of the surprise defeat at home to Dumbarton in their last league match, County boss Cooper was in cautious mood yesterday.
He said: "They know what they have to do and we know what we have to do. If we play as we have done this season, then it looks good for us. I have a good squad here and I would rather wait until the end of the season before I sign anyone because I would have a better choice.
"However, nothing is definite and I have looked at one or two people with Wednesday in mind. We are carrying a couple of suspensions, but if we did sign anyone it would be short-term."
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