New Caley Thistle signing Stuart Duff reckons the Highland club is capable of breaking into the top six of the SPL this season.
The 28-year-old rejected a move to St Mirren to agree a deal with the Caley Jags until the end of this term.
The former Dons and Dundee United player spent a month on loan at the Caledonian Stadium in January and believes there is great potential at the club.
Inverness proved their top-flight credentials by thrashing Dundee United at Tannadice and despite defeats by Celtic and Hamilton, Duff is confident manager Terry Butcher’s side is set for a successful campaign.
He said: “I knew last year if Inverness were to come up they would pose a few problems for teams in the SPL.
“I knew the ability of the players and the manager has kept the nucleus of the squad together.
“I think the target for Inverness is to stay in the SPL, I don’t think anyone would have any qualms about that.
“If we can push on and maybe break into the top six I think it would a huge achievement for a side coming up from Division 1.
“It is not something I would put past Inverness.”
After his release from Aberdeen, Duff trained with United and spent a trial period with St Johnstone before turning down an approach from St Mirren to commit his future to Inverness.
He said: “The most important thing was to get settled. I was in a bit of limbo for more than a month with clubs as there was not a lot of movement. I wanted to make sure the move was exactly right for me and when Inverness came in I did not give it much thought.”
Duff will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s trip to Hibs, along with Chris Innes and Dani Sanchez.
Butcher said: “I am delighted the board gave me the funds to get Stuart.
“He has a lot of experience in the SPL and he needs to get out and get playing again.
“Even though we only had him on loan for three games in January he made a big contribution to our promotion drive.
“Chris Innes is back in the reckoning after his wife had a baby girl on Tuesday.
“His wife had health problems before the baby was born. Everyone at the club is delighted she is fine now and Chris can concentrate totally on his football.
“He is great professional. He kept himself fit throughout and is in the frame for Saturday.
“Dani Sanchez has recovered from a knee problem, the only players missing against Hibs will be Kevin McCann who is ineligible, Gil Blumenshtein and Richie Foran.”