Caley Thistle manager John Robertson will step aside to allow coaches Scott Kellacher and Barry Wilson to take the team for tomorrow’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup tie against Morton.
Robertson is keen to shuffle his side for the Caledonian Stadium tie, with teenagers Roddy MacGregor and Cameron Harper to be handed starts against the Greenock outfit.
The Caley Jags boss says the coaching team will also be freshened up on a one-off basis, and he said: “Scott Kellacher and Barry Wilson will take the team, because if I’m ill or sent to the stand those boys will get their opportunity to do their thing.
“They will pick the team, and they will make the changes.
“Scott is comfortable with the squad he has got and the team we think he’s going to pick. It’s a good exercise all round.”
Attacker MacGregor and defender Harper, both 17, have been on the fringes of Robertson’s first team in recent months, with the pair intermittently coming off the bench.
Robertson confirmed the pair will be handed long-awaited starting opportunities in tomorrow’s tie against Ton, who Inverness defeated 5-0 on league duty last weekend.
The Caley Jags boss said: “It’s always a dilemma in this cup.
“We want to keep momentum going after a good result, but we are in a decent run of momentum.
“It offers a chance to play guys who are a wee bit undercooked the opportunity to get 90 minutes against really good opposition. That’s ultimately what we decided to do.
“Roddy MacGregor and Cameron Harper will start. We need to see where they are.
“They were knocking at the door in pre-season. They have done fine against Highland League opposition, and they did fine in little cameos against Aberdeen, Hearts and St Johnstone.
“We want to develop our younger players, and this gives us them an opportunity to develop their game on the pitch against Championship opposition in front of a good crowd.”
Robertson will also use tomorrow’s match against David Hopkin’s side to boost the match sharpness of a number of his more experienced players who have found game time hard to come by so far this term.
He said: “If we advance in the competition there are more games, it’s as simple and straightforward as that.
“We’ve got players like Roddy, Cameron and Matheus Machado who are seen as too good to be playing in the Fort William project, but they are just not getting quite enough games at first team level.
“This is their perfect opportunity, as it is for the likes of Cammy Mackay, Kevin McHattie, Sean Welsh, Charlie Trafford and Nikolay Todorov.
“We will need all our players. We are not going to go through the season without injuries and suspensions.
“We have already had injuries, such as Shaun Rooney, Brad Mckay and Mitch Curry. It allows us to get these lads playing and up to speed for whenever they are required.”
