John Hughes believes Livingston manager David Martindale has found the blueprint to success his Ross County side need to start following.

The new Lions boss has had a dream start to management since stepping up to replace Gary Holt.

A run of seven straight wins has taken his team up to fifth place in the Premiership table, with a Betfred Cup semi-final against St Mirren at Hampden to look forward to later this month too.

However, right now, that is something County can only dream of.

The Staggies – who head to the Tony Macaroni Arena on Sunday – remain rooted to the bottom of the table despite picking up four points from their last two games.

But Hughes – who was brought in to replace Stuart Kettlewell last month – sees no reason why his club cannot one day hold the same lofty ambitions as his former side Livi.

He said: “Davie’s done absolutely fantastic. I heard him say they are in the top five and want to stay there. They are looking to catch the next one up above them, so that tells you what sort of season they are having.

“But we’re looking to emulate what they have done. There’s no doubt about that.

“By hook or by crook they get the job done. We know we’re right up against it but there’s no fear on my part.

“You have to be inspired by taking on a team on that sort of run. What have we got to lose? We’ll go down there and give it a go.

“It’s a real tough game for us. Livi are unbeaten in seven and we know what they are all about.

“They are on a fantastic run and it’s always a difficult game down there.

“Obviously the last time the teams met was in the quarter final of the Betfred Cup and Livingston got the win, so we know the difficulty of the game.”