Caley Thistle are happy with how their nine on-loan youngsters are faring at Fort William.
The two clubs brokered an unusual agreement over the summer that would see the players, now too old for the under-18 league, spend the 2019-20 campaign on loan in the Highland League.
Jack Brown, Kieran Chalmers, Ross Gunn, Donald Morrison, Gabriel Hastings, Roddy Kennedy, Martin MacKinnon, Ryan Fyffe and Harry Nicolson have all been featuring regularly for the Fort under Russell McMorran.
They picked up their first league win in over two years last month, beating Clach 1-0, and earned an away trip to Albion Rovers in the Scottish Cup second round by beating Vale of Leithen 5-0.
Wilson, who takes the club’s under-18 side, says they will continue to monitor their progress but is pleased with how they have fared so far.
He said: “They have had up and down times, as you expect with most youngsters. They’ve had the confidence of scoring five against Vale of Leithen, Rothes and Nairn, but then the down of losing five against Turriff on Saturday.
“In general it seems to be working well. They’ve definitely improved Fort William, as we would have hoped. They’re getting game-time against some very good Highland League sides.”
The Lochaber side had a run to the North of Scotland Cup semi-finals, beating Nairn County 5-2 and Rothes 5-1. They were eliminated by eventual winners Brora Rangers in last month’s semi-finals.
One of the nine loanees, Wick-born midfielder Ross Gunn, is the club’s top goalscorer this season, with six goals in all competitions.
Wilson added: “Ross has been dropped from time to time and had been getting frustrated. But he’s got six goals and a few assists now. He’s a great lad, a hard worker and knows where the goal is.
“We’re keeping an eye on them and we try watch them as much as we can.”
