STUART Kettlewell says Ross County must be prepared to roll up their sleeves and work in the second half of the season, if win promotion to the SPL.

Kettlewell warned his team-mates they will need to put on more battling performances like the one at Queen of the South last weekend to stay on top of Irn Bru Division One.

The Staggies welcome Greenock Morton on Saturday and the midfielder is eager to keep his place in the squad as they continue their push towards the top tier.

He said: "I have enjoyed a great run of starts and games but I know the ball is in my court.

"If I perform and the team is doing well then I think I will keep starting, but there is a real pressure to perform well because there are boys here who could easily fill my place."

County remain three points clear at the top of the table, with Falkirk and Dundee directly below them.

Kettlewell knows his side have to perform to keep ahead of the chasing pack, but says the team are enjoying their current 16-match unbeaten run.

He said: "If you'd offered us this position in January at the start of the season, we'd have bitten your hand off for it!

"It really shows how far we have come that we were frustrated to come home with only a draw on Saturday."

Looking ahead to Saturday's Victoria Park clash, the midfielder said: "We have played them twice, beating them and drawing with them, and they are a side with good players.

"If we implement our game, getting the ball down and doing the things we do well, then we always have a real chance at home."

Reflecting on last Saturday's draw, Kettlewell said: "It was one of those games where we had to roll our sleeves up, dig in and work hard.

"There will be plenty of those games this season, as every team is now keen to beat us because we are at the top.

With Queens performing like that, I'm sure Falkirk and Dundee will find them very difficult to beat as well, so we have to take the positives from the point."

Kettlewell said he and his team-mates had congratulated Michael Gardyne after the striker signed a pre-contract agreement with SPL side Dundee United.

He said: "We are all really pleased for him. It's a move to his home town and when you do well at a club there will always be teams sniffing around.

"He is concentrating on the job and we know he wants to leave here with a championship medal."