Midfielder Ross Draper says his Caley Thistle team-mates must look to their next league opponents Partick Thistle for inspiration in their attempt to climb off the bottom of the Premiership.
Inverness have slipped a point adrift of Hamilton Accies at the foot of the table, with the 40 goals conceded in 21 games so far leaving Caley Jags with the worst defensive record in the league.
Richie Foran’s men are without a victory since a 3-0 triumph at Motherwell on October 26, which is one of only three league wins they have secured all season.
Although their run makes for grim reading, Englishman Draper is remaining calm ahead of his side’s remaining 17 Premiership fixtures, the next of which is against Thistle at Caledonian Stadium on January 28.
Alan Archibald’s men were bottom of the table less than three weeks ago, until a run of seven points from a possible nine lifted them to seventh place ahead of the winter break.
Draper believes Inverness side can do likewise but says they must start making the most of games against teams in and around them in the table.
The 28-year-old said: “There’s pressure to get results but every team is getting that.
“We’ve not really had results we’ve wanted against teams around us. Teams are going to pick up points – teams are all playing each other, so you know someone has to get points. If you’re playing in a 24-team league like down south, it’s different.
“There’s pressure on every game. We’re in a situation where we need wins and points. There’s no panic. We’re a bounce of a ball away from getting a few results and that’s been the case in the last few games.
“With a couple of bad results, you find yourselves down there. We’ve played well in the last four games but not had the luck. We’ve hit the bar, post and not had the luck. Maybe we need that to get a run of games going.
“Partick have shown that – a couple of weeks ago they were near the bottom. It’s not worrying, we know what we need to do.”
Draper hopes the three-week January shutdown will benefit Caley Jags, who return to action with a Scottish Cup tie against Elgin City at Borough Briggs a week on Saturday.
He added: “Boys can enjoy time with their families and recover from the knocks and niggles we’ve all got. We can come back fresh and kick on.”
