Dundee United boss Mixu Paatelainen is expecting a “fiery” response from Ross County when his side face them in the quarter-final of the William Hill Scottish Cup this afternoon.
The Tangerines secured a priceless three league points against the same opposition in Dingwall last weekend, in a notable 3-0 victory.
Paatelainen is now expecting a backlash in the cup tie, something he insists his players must be ready for.
The manager said: “They’ll be very, very fiery. They play a great game and use their strikers so well their movement in the forward line is fantastic and show you how much hard work they put in on the training ground.
“We must be ready. Last weekend we did a very good job against their strikers and we must be ready to do the same again, but it will be very difficult.”
United could not follow up their win against County on Wednesday night when they faced Aberdeen at Tannadice, losing 1-0 to the Dons.
Some may now think that the Tangerines players will be looking for a much-needed break from their Premiership toils but it would be fair to say the big Finn does not see it that way.
Paatelainen said: “If somebody thinks that my team talk after the Aberdeen game and the way I spoke to the players was to say, ‘Now it is a cup game, take it easy, no problem, don’t prepare, don’t sleep, don’t eat, blah, blah, blah, have a jolly’ . . . it doesn’t quite go like that.”
Ross County, of course, have already made it through to the League Cup Final against Hibs with the game taking place next week.
And Paatelainen insists the Staggies squad would not be human if their thoughts did not stray to the showpiece occasion.
He said: “I’m sure they’ll be thinking about the cup final coming up. If not, they’re robots. It’s only natural.
“Some players will take the prospect of the final as a motivation.
“They’ll think, ‘It’s a cup final next week and I’m going to show the manager I’m worth a place in the team’. Others think, ‘I’m not going into a crunching tackle because I’m a regular starter and I might get injured. I want to be ready for next week’. We’re dealing with human beings.
“Everyone responds differently. Players who believe in themselves take it as an extra motivation. Others don’t put themselves out because they want to be available.”
Leaving the Aberdeen result to one side, overall, United have shown signs of recovery in recent weeks.
When asked how as a manager does he keep the motivation fixed, Paatelainen replied: “By showing and telling the players the right stuff we have done so they can do it again and again.
“Obviously, there are bits we want to improve on but nothing changes really.
“Our season has been really difficult so we have been trying and trying to find that formula with different exercises and different ways of doing things on the training ground and the pitch.
“Once you find something that works, you want to keep that.
“The same applies to the formations and the roles players play in that.
“The same applies to training methods, everything.
“If you find that something works, you want to keep doing it.
“You also have to make sure everyone realises it is a good thing we are doing to carry that on.
“Of course, complacency is something that creeps in every now and then.
“So far this season, it hasn’t crept into our heads because we haven’t been successful yet at all.
“We will be successful this season if and when we stay up. That’s our aim.
“There is no great danger of complacency. Every one of our players feels hungry and are determined to do their best every week.”