Caley Thistle manager John Hughes accepts time is running out for Inverness to revive their faint hopes of securing a Premiership top-six finish.
Inverness have failed to win any of their last five league matches and have fallen five points adrift of sixth-placed Motherwell.
The Highlanders suffered a further blow when their defence of the Scottish Cup was ended by Championship side Hibernian’s 2-1 victory at Caledonian Stadium on Wednesday.
Caley Jags have just four matches left before the split, starting with tomorrow’s Highland derby encounter against Ross County, and Hughes has called on his side to rally.
Hughes said: “It will be really difficult to make top six now, but these boys are more than capable of going on a run that might just take us there. That’s the challenge that we will put to them.
“In the last three league games alone, five points has been the difference between us being in the top six and not right now.
“There is no point going over that too much, though, because the good thing about football is that we get the opportunity to put it right and that’s what we need to do.”
Hughes has grown frustrated with the manner of his team’s recent losses, with Inverness going down 1-0 against Hamilton Accies in their last league encounter last Saturday, and the Caley Jags manager says his side must become tougher to defeat.
Hughes added: “Against Hamilton, we battered them in the second half but one breakaway and they scored.
“We were watching things falling around Hibs’ box on Wednesday, and thinking if that was at the other end it would be in the back of our net.
“We need to put our finger on it, try and rectify it. We need to start giving ourselves a chance to win a football match.
“That’s starting with keeping clean sheets.
“Hibs knew they were hanging on towards the end but they were resolute and resilient to dig in.
“I told the boys after the match to go home and look at it and, for all the effort and commitment, just look at the goals.
“They put all that in and concede two goals like that.”
