Caley Thistle defender Carl Tremarco wants an IRN-BRU Cup final victory to show Inverness can regain their winning mentality.
Inverness will play their third cup final in four years tomorrow when they face Dumbarton at McDiarmid Park, Perth.
Caley Jags’ fall from grace since beating Falkirk at Hampden in May 2015 has been dramatic, with the club going from Scottish Cup winners to rele-gated to the Cham-pionship in the space of two seasons.
That is why Tremarco is placing so much importance on tomorrow’s big game against the Sons at the home of St Johnstone.
He said: “We really need to get the winning mentality back in the club. The success we had in recent years has died down following relegation and then the struggle in the league this year. We need to get that winning mentality back.
“We’ve lost it last year and we haven’t had it this year. We need to become winners and there is no better place to start than winning a trophy which can hopefully be a springboard for the rest of the season.”
Caley Jags’ hopes of sealing an immediate return to the Premiership are slim following a season-long struggle in the second tier of Scottish football. Tremarco, one of the survivors from the cup-winning team of three years ago, insists a cup victory alone is not enough to salvage the campaign.
He said: “Winning a trophy will not make it a successful season if we finish eighth. We need to be higher in the league.
“I’m not one for making excuses but the cup-winning squad was ripped apart. Winners like Graeme Shinnie and Marley Watkins were ripped away and we didn’t replace them with the winners they were.
“It is a tough job and the winning mentality is built by winning every week. It hasn’t happened enough which is why winning a trophy and the feeling that comes with it is a start.
“I know the good side and the bad side from losing the League Cup final and winning the Scottish Cup.
“The Scottish Cup final was a lot better feeling. The new boys haven’t tasted that before and I hope they take it all in and enjoy it as it might never happen again.
“I never thought this would happen again after what happened last season and to win a trophy is what you want to do as a football player.”
Caley Thistle’s final countdown, Pages 56 and 57
