Caley Thistle midfielder Aaron Doran feels back to full sharpness and reckons he will not need to be held back from playing on artificial surfaces.
Irishman Doran has undergone two separate knee operations since August 2015, which has prompted Inverness manager John Robertson to leave him out of the squad for some of Caley Jags’ away matches against sides who play on artificial pitches this season.
Caley Thistle have made use of the 3G surface at Highland rugby club’s Canal Park for training in recent weeks, due to bad weather making their regular Fort George training pitch unplayable.
Doran has had no adverse reaction and feels ready to play regardless of the surface.
He said: “When I came back from injury, I didn’t really train on astroturf, but I’ve come through the last couple of days with no concerns at all. It doesn’t really bother me anymore.
“I just get out there and train on it.
“I think that’s the end of it now. I’m fit and ready to play on whatever surface.
“I do all the work off the pitch that I’ve been doing since my injury, I keep my leg strong so I don’t pick up any injuries really.
“I had a slight groin strain that kept me out of the Crusaders game but I only missed two or three days’ training as a precaution.
“I feel good in myself and I just want to play as many games as I can.”
Caley Jags’ 2-0 loss to Morton last weekend leaves them 10 points adrift of the promotion play-off places, and former Blackburn Rovers player Doran accepts there is little more room for error from his side.
He added: “It’s crucial. We need to look to win every game we play now to make one of those play-off positions. The league is still really tight and if we play the way we can we can push the other teams all the way.
“But there really isn’t room for error at this stage.
“The games are going to be coming thick and fast – and that’s what we need now.
“If we can get a win on Saturday, it will be a good start but we need to take it game-by-game. We’re looking to win every week.”
Caley Jags have won all four matches against bottom-of-the-table Brechin this term, however Doran is wary of the Angus outfit.
“We’re at home and we’ve beaten them in each game so far. But we have watched clips of them and we know they play some nice football. At the start of the season, they were going more direct, but now they’re getting the ball down and passing.
“They’re not getting beat by much in games and I’m pretty sure they will be going all out to get their first win of the season. It will be a very tough game.”
