DEREK Adams insists there's plenty of work to be done before Ross County can dream of the SPL - but he backs his table-toppers to underline their class in the closing months.
Saturday's postponed Irn Bru Division One match against Morton due to a waterlogged pitch means County have three games in hand over Dundee and Falkirk, meaning a full 18 games - or half a season - has still to be played by the Dingwall side.
While keen to stress his team's long run-in before the May 5 conclusion, the manager told the North Star he knows his players can rise to the challenge.
He said: "We have 18 games to go and the other teams have 15 left. There's a long way to go in this campaign, but we know what we have to do and our players are ready for that challenge.
"We have the opportunity to reach the SPL. We have very good players at this club and they have shown that over the season. There's no doubt they could play at a higher level, I hope they can do that here.
"We are punching above our weight up here because of the tradition of other clubs in this league, such as Dundee, Falkirk, Hamilton and Raith Rovers. They all have a long tradition of playing in the Premier League or even Europe, so that's testament to our players that we're top of the league at this stage of the season."
County drew at Kirkcaldy, as did Dundee at Partick Thistle, leaving County two points ahead with a trio of games in hand.
Adams said: "Those results were good for us. We now have three games in hand, which is a good thing and a bad thing, but with Dundee and Falkirk not in league action this weekend, we have the opportunity to win the game and move further ahead. When you have games in hand, it's important that you don't lose."
With County away to SPL club St Mirren a week on Saturday in the William Hill Scottish Cup, Adams admits trying to succeed on both fronts can't detract from their top target this year.
He explained: "My only concern is playing in both competitions. That can be difficult for a squad like ours, although we do have a number of players who haven't played that season. The league is the priority. The season we reached the Scottish Cup final was great, but in the end we played four games in the last week of the season and that affected us. We had a lot of coverage that season, but this season we are concentrating on the league."
On Saturday, mid-table Livingston are the league visitors and Adams is keen to cash in on having this fixture on home soil.
He said: "They will come here looking for a result and I like a number of their players. You look at Mark Fotheringham, for example, although by all accounts he could be moving on. Iain Russell up front is another who has always done a very good job for them. They drew on Saturday against Queen of the South, but we'll looking to use our home advantage. "Every team we play will want to end our unbeaten run, but we've been very good. We've come back in games after we've gone behind in our last two (league) games against Falkirk and Dundee. It's important that we go on and score the first goal.
"Livingston are a good side. It was a draw last time they came here and we then went down to win 3-0. This time, we have home advantage and we aim to make that count."
Missing for County this Saturday are injured duo Johnny Flynn and Marc Fitzpatrick, while Paul Lawson is suspended.
County, meanwhile, will have chief scout Stuart Millar across the Kessock Bridge on Saturday watching next weekend's Scottish Cup opponents St Mirren take on Caley Thistle in the SPL.
There was no imminent transfer news at the Dingwall club this week, but Adams hinted that - bucking the trend - he could make a deadline day move. See your NS next week just after the window shuts.
