Caley Thistle manager John Robertson insists Tuesday’s first leg defeat to Dundee United has done nothing to quell his belief Inverness can triumph in their Premiership semi final tie.
Paul McMullan’s late goal saw Robbie Neilson’s men triumph 1-0 at Caledonian Stadium on Tuesday, in a match which saw the Highlanders play the majority of the second half with 10 men following midfielder Liam Polworth’s dismissal.
Caley Jags will now look to overturn the deficit when they travel to Tannadice for tomorrow’s second leg, with Inverness looking to replicate their 2-1 victory in the quarter final of the Scottish Cup in March.
Despite Tuesday’s loss, Robertson was encouraged by his side’s display, and he said: “We feel very hard done by. Had the game gone into the second leg level it would have set up really well, but it’s not dead.
“We’ve got a great away record, and we have won at Tannadice already. That’s what we’re saying to the players – there is still lots to play for.
“We will go down there and give it absolutely everything we’ve got.
“Tuesday’s performance gives me encouragement we can get through, because for long spells of the game we passed it around well and were in good control of the football.
“We just needed that little bit more of a cutting edge in the last third.
“We feel a bit disappointed about how the game has gone, but we will use that disappointment as a fillip to come again on Friday.”
Although tomorrow’s match will be Inverness’ eighth in the space of a month Robertson is not concerned about tiredness, as Caley Jags look to turn the tie on its head to set up a final showdown with St Mirren or Hamilton Accies for a place in next year’s top-flight.
Robertson is hopeful winger Tom Walsh will return from a hamstring problem which ruled him out of Tuesday’s match, and he added: “We are not concerned, we are a fit team. We saw that towards the end, I thought our fitness even with 10 men was excellent.
“We were still going forward and causing problems. We were throwing bodies into the box and getting people in there.
“We took Aaron Doran off to save his legs, because he will be needed on Friday, as well as Jordan White.
“We have got other guys that can come in. Hopefully Walsh will be back, while Darren McCauley who will be fresher. We have bodies there.
“As far as fatigue goes, it’s not going to be a problem as they are a fit bunch of boys. They have shown it all season and they will show it again on Friday.”
