Riccardo Calder is determined to do his late mentor Cyrille Regis proud by thriving for Caley Thistle.
Former West Bromwich Albion striker Regis died last month aged 59, with his funeral held on Tuesday – the same day as Inverness’ were defeated 1-0 by Dundee in the Scottish Cup fourth round.
Regis acted as Birmingham-born Calder’s agent, helping him secure a number of loan moves from hometown club Aston Villa prior to signing permanently with Caley Jags in the summer.
Defender Calder has taken great inspiration from Regis, who was viewed as a role model for black players, and the 22-year-old said: “Cyrille was my agent and he looked after me. He has helped me get to where I am today. He signed me when I was 15, so I have known him a long time.
“He was a massive influence on me. He stuck by me when things weren’t going well and had that belief in me that I would make it.
“There were times when I was finding it tough but he was always there telling me to keep calm and be myself.
“In my spare time I like to rap and I have expressed myself through song in a tribute to him.
“It is my time now to go and make him proud. He was a legend and having him looking after me was a huge thing.
“I texted him on the Saturday after we beat Queen of the South 3-1 and he got back to me to say well done.
“He used to give me a call every Monday and Friday, but he passed away on the Sunday.
“It is tough for myself and my family but I hope he rests in peace.
“Tuesday was a difficult day and I was disappointed I couldn’t make the funeral but he would have wanted me to play against Dundee.
“My mum went to the service and she was on FaceTime so I could see what was happening.
“I have watched a few clips of Cyrille and I bought a book about him recently.
“He was a great player and he was a massive influence on a lot of players. He will be sorely missed.”
Although disappointed at Inverness’ cup exit, Calder is focusing all his efforts on helping his side’s push for promotion from the Championship, with Dundee United the visitors to Caledonian Stadium on Saturday.
He added: “We never got the result we wanted against Dundee but we can take positives from our games against them.
“We have shown we can compete with teams like Dundee although we didn’t win.
“It shows how far we have come on since the start of the season.
“We have the belief that we can make the play-offs this year and I think we can do it, if we believe in ourselves.”
Calder has enjoyed a run in John Robertson’s side in recent weeks, with fellow left back Carl Tremarco sidelined with a hamstring injury, and he is eager to stake his claim.
He added: “With Carl being out it has given me the chance to get a run in the team. I just have to make sure I take the opportunity.
“I have had to be patient but I just kept my head down and trained as hard as I could to make sure I was ready when the chance came along.”
