As a born and bred Highlander himself, Gary Mackay-Steven has not been in the least surprised by the uprising in the north this season.
The Dundee United winger heads up the A9 with his Tannadice teammates expecting a serious test from Inverness Caley Thistle.
In-form ICT have now been joined by regional rivals Ross County in taking the SPL by storm, mostly against expectations.
For Wick-born Mackay-Steven, however, it has not been a shock to see Terry Butcher’s side march into second spot, while County’s transformation from relegation candidates to top-six challengers hasn’t raised an eyebrow either.
What he was also quick to stress, though, was that a win in Inverness would put United just a point behind their opponents, so tight is the league table.
“I’m not too surprised that there’s been a real Highland resurgence this season,” said the Scotland under-21 star.
“Inverness have been flying and Ross County have been doing likewise. It is great for the Highlands as a whole and I have friends on both sides of the Highland divide.
“I will have a fair few friends from Inverness coming to the game so there will obviously be some friendly banter coming my way from the stands but I enjoy that to be honest.
“The locals know I am from their part of the country but hopefully I can keep them quiet. We know how tough it is going to be up there.
“They have played great stuff all season so it is not going to be easy but we are looking forward to it after the draw against Hibs.
“There are also only four points between ourselves and Inverness so a victory would move us to within a point of them in the table.”
Sunday’s display against the Edinburgh side could have been better and Mackay-Steven is keen for some improvement against ICT.
“We felt as a team that we played nowhere near like what we can,” he admitted.
“We were worthy of a draw in the end but performance-wise we are looking to bounce back. Also, if any team strings a few victories together, they will be right up there.
“That is how tight it is in the SPL and that’s what we are looking to do. It will be a great start to get three points up there and hopefully send us on a wee run.
“The key for us is to take that lingering sense of frustration from the Hibs match into this one. We are all delighted we have a game so soon to look forward to after Sunday’s draw.
“There are not too many games left before the split so it is about trying to grasp the opportunity. We want to get as high up the league as possible and hopefully this can be the start of it.”
The match will come too early for new central defender Marcus Tornstrand, who will now try to build up his match fitness.
That is likely to see striker Jon Daly take on defensive duties again.