ROSS County manager Jim McIntyre insists the Highlanders cannot be judged on how they fare against the champions after they lost 4-0 at Celtic Park.

Celtic extending their unbeaten domestic run to 55 games at the weekend meant that County have now gone six matches without a win and now sit in 11th place, just two points above bottom side Kilmarnock.

However, McIntyre conceded that his team should still have executed certain parts of their game better than they did on Saturday, even though they improved after the break. “The bottom line is we won’t be judged by what we do against Celtic but we still want to be better than what we were.

“They are expected to win at home to Ross County but I expect my team to be better, more in their face than what we were in the first half certainly, although the second half was an improvement.

“So I take the positives from that and get ready for Hibs next week.”

After hosting Hibernian this coming weekend, Ross County will travel to Kilmarnock for what could be a crucial match for both sides.