Caley Thistle midfielder James Vincent feels resilience has been the key to the Highlanders sustaining their push for Premiership promotion.
Inverness bounced back from Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Alloa Athletic in style, with a 3-1 victory over Queen of the South on Tuesday.
The strong response to defeat has been a feature of Caley Jags’ season, having only once suffered back-to-back defeats from their 10 losses throughout the campaign.
Englishman Vincent feels a stubborn refusal to dwell on their setbacks has helped Inverness regain their four-point lead over third-placed Dundee.
Vincent said: “To be fair, you are going to lose games in this league. Everyone has, it’s just the way the league is sometimes.
“We have been consistent more often than not, and we have shown we are resilient.
“We have fought back when we have gone down, which his credit to the boys.
“It’s the atmosphere we set here. It’s what we want, and it will put us in good stead coming into the end of the season.”
Vincent netted the opening goal on his return to the side against Queens, after missing the previous three matches with an ankle injury.
John Robertson made five changes to the side in an unfamiliar 3-5-2 line-up which included attacker Nikolay Todorov being played as an auxiliary central defender, and Vincent felt the team showed its adaptability.
The 30-year-old added: “The manager gave David Carson and myself a bit more of a forward role, so it was nice to get in and around the box – albeit it was from a corner I scored.
“I had a bit of a role to get forward and enjoyed it. I’m always delighted to score.
“We showed what the squad is about. The manager has said from the beginning, we need to use our whole squad – especially when we have a couple of injuries.
“The likes of Nikolay came in out of position and did fantastic. It’s good for the team, it keeps everyone on their toes and involved.
“We are going to need everyone going into the back end of the season.
“It’s going to be an exciting time and hopefully we can do good things.”
Caley Thistle make the trip to Arbroath on Saturday, where they face a Red Lichties side who have run out victorious in the last two meetings between the sides.
Vincent is intent on halting that trend at Gayfield, adding: “They have been very good against us.
“Unfortunately we have also been very bad on those days, so there is a little bit of both.
“Credit to them, they have done really well this season.
“They are good opposition, we know they are a hard working team and we have to match that if we want to get anything.
“That will be the gameplan. Hopefully our quality can come through and we can get the win.”
