Caley Thistle skipper Gary Warren fears livelihoods are at stake in the Highlanders’ remaining two Premiership games of the season.
Inverness need two wins to have any chance of avoiding relegation, with Highland rivals Ross County throwing them a late lifeline by defeating second-bottom Hamilton Accies 3-2 last night.
It has been a miserable first season in the dugout for manager Richie Foran, who replaced John Hughes on a four-year contract at the end of last season.
Caley Jags will try to secure only their sixth league win of the campaign when they face Dundee at Dens Park tonight, before ending the season at home to Motherwell on Saturday.
With time fast running out for Inverness, Warren knows he and his team-mates must prove they deserve to be at the club next season. Englishman Warren is signed on a contract until 2019, but knows nobody at the club can take their place for granted as things can change in a hurry.
Warren said: “We need to keep playing for our futures. That’s what we’re here for. We’re also playing for our livelihoods.
“We have families to take care of, our own futures to take care of, and it’s up to the players to knuckle down and take care of business for themselves.
“Whether players are on a long-term contract or not, we’re still playing for pride.
“For me, it’s all about not letting other people down. I take great pride in my own performances in games and in training, and how I conduct myself around the club every day.
“It’s hard to take because of some of the success, and the so many good years we’ve had over the last four or five years.
“It has been a frustrating season. I’m on a long-term contract but it doesn’t mean to say I won’t be gone at the end of the season. Clubs can turn around and say they don’t want you, whether you’re on a long-term contract or not.
“If you’re not wanted, you’re not part of the football club.
“This has been a season I haven’t enjoyed, and that’s because of where we are.
“No player is going to enjoy their football when the club is at the wrong end of the table.”
Warren is refusing to look for excuses to explain his side’s position, less than two years on from that day at Hampden when the Scottish Cup was won, and the 32-year-old added: “The season has been frustrating for us and there is no hiding from it.
“We’re down at the bottom of the table and it’s not been a nice season or one full of many highlights.
“Any team that wins four or five games over the course of a season does not deserve to be anywhere but near the bottom.
“That’s down to us as a team.
“We haven’t been good enough and over the course of a season the league table doesn’t tell a lie.
“We can point to bad luck and injuries, but generally it does usually pan out as a true reflection. Not good enough.”
On long-term contract but it doesn’t mean to say I won’t be gone at the end of the season”
