Caley Thistle manager John Robertson insists the carrot of an extra £77,000 in prize money makes him determined to leapfrog Ayr United into third place in the Championship.
Inverness and Ayr have both secured promotion play-off places and will face each other in the opening round, with both sides currently on 50 points but the Honest Men ahead on goal difference.
With two league matches remaining, the team which ends the campaign in third will enjoy home advantage in the second leg of the tie.
After the club posted a loss of more than £810,000 for the 2017-18 season earlier this year, Robertson says the financial fillip is a strong incentive to finish third.
Robertson said: “There is a financial increment in where we finish – a £77,000 difference between third and fourth.
“If you ask anybody in any walk of life if £77,000 would make a difference – it does.
“We have had record losses announced at the AGM, so everybody knows that every penny is a prisoner.
“That’s as it is at every club – I’m pretty sure the Ayr chairman will be thinking exactly the same.
“For the club to finish third financially would be very welcoming.”
Inverness make the trip to second-bottom Alloa Athletic tomorrow, before they host Dunfermline in their final league match the following weekend.
Robertson is eager to build momentum ahead of the play-offs, adding: “It’s a fine balance – there are two different routes to a certain degree. In an ideal scenario we would rest as many players as we can.
“Not so much this week, as for the integrity of the league we want to put out a strong side because Alloa are right in the thick of it and it would be unfair to other clubs.
“We want to go down on Saturday and play our strongest team which we feel is good enough to win all three points.
“We want to finish the season on a high and get a bit of momentum going into the play-offs. That’s how I see it as a manager.
“Had we been in a position where fourth was the highest we could finish, there would be an opportunity to rest players and bring some of the younger lads in.
“But we’ve still got our eyes set on third place. For the players finishing third would be a decent effort.”
Should Inverness advance past Ayr in their opening play-off match, the second leg of their semi-final against Dundee United will be played on Friday, May 17, three days after the first leg on Tuesday, May 14.
The SPFL have moved the date to avoid a clash with Dundee’s final home game of the season against St Mirren at Dens Park, which takes place on the Saturday.
