Jim McIntyre prioritises a compact Ross County defence in match against Aberdeen

Jim McIntyre has urged his Ross County defence to shut out the threat of Aberdeen frontman Adam Rooney by cutting the Irishman off at source.

The Staggies host the second-placed Dons on Sunday but McIntyre is wary of the threat posed by the Irishman and his Reds colleagues.

Rooney has 14 goals to his name so far but rather than focus all their attention on marking him out of this weekend's Premiership duel, the County boss wants his side to make sure the service he relies on does not get through.

Rooney is a very dangerous player,'' said McIntyre.

In fact, their front three or four are very potent.

Most of their goals come from Rooney, Jonny Hayes and Niall McGinn, backed up by whoever is playing in the hole, whether that by Kenny McLean, Peter Pawlett or someone else.

These guys are all capable of chipping in with goals and we have to try and stop it at source.

It's about making sure you are very compact in defence in order to cut off the space that these guys thrive on.''

The Dingwall men finally claimed their place in the last 16 of the William Hill Scottish Cup after Raffaele De Vita netted the winner in Tuesday night's fourth-round replay win over Dunfermline.

The Italian was an instant hit when he first signed for County last January but the former Cheltenham winger has had a disjointed campaign so far, with injuries disrupting his progress.

We're hoping Rafa gets that boost after Tuesday night,'' said McIntyre.

He's been very unfortunate this season with the injuries he has picked up.

They always seem to come at the wrong time just when he's managed to get a couple of games and looks like he's going to get his season started.

There's been a mixture of a lack of form and misfortune with injuries but hopefully that goal will kick-start his season.

It was around this time of year last season when Rafa came in and was absolutely fantastic for us. Hopefully we can get him back to that level and if we do, we have a fantastic footballer on our hands.''