John Hughes believes new signing Mohamed Maouche can provide the spark which ignites Ross County's survival bid.

The Staggies boss has handed the former Oldham midfielder a deal to the end of the season and hopes the 27-year-old Frenchman can reproduce the form he showed at Boundary Park.

Maouche started out his career with French side St Etienne before moving to Servette in Switzerland. He joined the Latics in 2017 and spent three years with Oldham from 2017-20 making 75 appearances for the English league Two outfit.

Hughes said: "Mohamed is a player that will feel he has a bit of a point to prove and we believe he can add to the group.

"He has that bit of flare about him that can spark special moments in games and we have to make sure that is what he does here and does it consistently.

"If you look at some of the performances Mohamed put in for Oldham over his time there it shows that he can play and what he will bring to Ross County.

"The important part for us is we need to see his best play every time he steps on to the pitch and I am sure he will want to make sure of that too."

Maouche will have to complete a period of self-isolation before joining the Staggies squad, ruling him out of Sunday's trip to Livingston.

County remain bottom of the table on goal difference but Charlie Lakin believes his side have already turning the corner after picking up four points from their last two games.

Speaking ahead of the Tony Macaroni Arena showdown, the on-loan Birmingham midfielder said: "Saturday will be a tough test but there is definitely a feeling that things are going to click sooner rather than later as the new manager has brought a real togetherness to the team.

"We can feel it coming. Obviously there will be pressure on us this weekend as we need the result but we need to play like there is none.

"Livi are on a good run and will be full of confidence, especially after beating us in the Betfred Cup too. But we need to get some points down there and hopefully kick off a run of results."