Scottish Championship - Ross County v Partick Thistle
Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Date: Friday, 9 January Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Watch live on BBC Scotland, iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app
Stuart Kettlewell says he needs players who are "hungry and have an appetite for the fight" as the returning manager aims to help save Ross County from a second successive relegation.
County are five points adrift at the bottom of the Championship as they prepare to take on promotion chasing Partick Thistle in Dingwall in front of the BBC Scotland cameras on Friday.
Kettlewell takes charge for the first time following a return to the club he managed to Championship promotion and Challenge Cup success back in 2019.
"In Championship terms, we have got a relatively strong squad," Kettlewell told BBC Scotland. "We have got experience, some talented younger players."
Despite that, County have won only twice in nine outings and are on a run of three without a victory.
"Psychologically, we need to change something," Kettlewell suggested.
"I think there have been a number of games where County have been the better team, dominating the ball, had the better chances in the game and lost it.
"There's no magic wand, but I do point to experiences in the past a few years ago taking over Motherwell whilst they were bottom of the Premiership table and then having a pretty remarkable string of results and I will draw on a lot of those experiences."
Kettlewell has had to show his own recent resilience after he was sacked by Kilmarnock just before Christmas after a downturn in results.
Despite a positive start to the Premiership season, Kettlewell departed Rugby Park after a 10-game winless streak.
"We know we were on a poor run, that speaks for itself," he said. "Started the season very, very well, a good winning run, finding ourselves high in the league in the early stages.
"Do you have the group onside, are the players 100% with you, are we close in games? I think the answer to all those things is without question, yes.
"We probably felt we were on the wrong side of a few key decisions which people will all point the finger to. We suffered some really key injuries, no more so than Max Stryjek and Djenairo Daniels to name but two of several."
Kettlewell points out that both he and Kilmarnock have moved on, with the Ayrshire club replacing him with Neil McCann and Billy Dodds, "two guys I know and respect really well".
"Spent a lot of time with Doddsy at Ross County, working under him and Jim McIntyre, so I wish them nothing but the best," he said.
Despite his young family being based in the central belt, Kettlewell has moved himself back up to the Highlands to work "24/7 on solving the problem" in Dingwall.
Questions swirl around in terms of personnel, especially with the January transfer window now open.
"I absolutely want him here at the football club," is Kettlewell's response to questions over the future of Northern Ireland striker Ronan Hale.
The 27-year-old has 18 months left on his contract but is once again attracting reported transfer interest from south of the border.
Considering the calibre of such players, many outside observers have been left scratching their heads as to why the Dingwall side find themselves staring a second successive relegation in the face.
Despite the addition of quality additions like former Scotland defender Declan Gallagher and former Dundee United captain Ross Docherty, the Staggies have stagnated rather than fight for promotion as was expected.
"We understand that we have got players that have operated at a really high level and players that have some nice, notable achievements on their CV, but it's understanding what the here and now is," Kettlewell said.
"What we absolutely need are players who are hungry and have an appetite for the fight, because that is what part of it is going to be.
"That's not me casting up with anybody in the squad. Day to day, the squad have trained incredibly well, the intensity and the quality in the sessions have been brilliant. But I think that has been noted from the previous two managers.
"The key factor is in what we do when we cross the white line on a match day on a Friday night live on the BBC, or on a Saturday at three o'clock.
"We have to find that emotional intelligence to be able to deal with the game and replicate the quality that I have seen through the week on the training pitch."
