Caley Thistle manager John Robertson accepts his side will likely need to win all five of their remaining Championship games to have any chance of reaching the promotion play-offs.
Inverness are eight points adrift of fourth-placed Dundee United ahead of today’s visit of Dumbarton, in the first installment of a double-header against the Sons who host the Highlanders on Tuesday.
Although Caley Jags have won their last three games, results elsewhere have prevented Inverness moving as close to the top-four as Robertson would have liked, however he remains determined to take his side’s push as far as it can go.
Robertson said: “It is still a really tough ask. Our victory against Falkirk was the first time we have won three league games in a row.
“A lot of people thought the initial target was to win all eight. We didn’t think it would take that, but unfortunately the other night when we thought other teams might drop points, they didn’t.
“It’s looking ever more likely that if we are going to achieve the play-off spot, it’s going to have to take that monumental effort.
“We had a very poor start to the season, but we have put ourselves in a position where we still have an outside chance. We are not giving up on it.”
Robertson will be forced to ring the changes for today’s game, with Coll Donaldson, Carl Tremarco and Charlie Trafford all suspended for the Caledonian Stadium encounter.
The Caley Jags manager says taking maximum points from the Dumbarton matches will set his side up for a grandstand finish to the campaign, with games against Dunfermline, Livingston and Morton to follow.
He added: “We have looked at little targets. We looked at Queen of the South and Falkirk and got maximum points out of that, and now we have a double header against Dumbarton.
“If we can win both it sets up an incredibly exciting last week.
“As it stands it’s still in our own hands, we know if we win all five games we will make the play-offs.
“That’s the long-term target, but the first target is to win the home match against Dumbarton and then prepare to go down to their place and try and win again.”
