Miles Storey is convinced the return of supporters helped inspire Caley Thistle to their best performance of the season so far.
With no more than 300 fans watching against promotion rivals Raith Rovers, the Inverness men were easy on the eye as they swept forward with style and incisive intent.
But the Highlanders also put in the hard yards to negate the in-form Kirkcaldy side’s own attacking intentions long before victory was assured.
It might have been a more emphatic scoreline, not least if a couple of fine Storey attempts had not rebounded off the top of the crossbar.
Storey, superb throughout in his first league start, stressed: “It definitely had an effect on us, seeing some of the fans back in the stadium.
“For me, personally, the way I play means I chase down a lot of lost causes.
“It gives you a bit of a lift and extra drive to get there when the fans are watching. I’m just delighted it was such a good game for them to come back to.
“Raith play good football. They are probably one of the best passing teams in the league, but I think we reduced them to nothing, really.
“It made it a bit of a shift for the forward boys – me, James Keatings, Shane Sutherland and Kai Kennedy – but when we got our foot on the ball, we played some good stuff.”
Storey’s delight was cemented by a feeling that Caley Thistle were back to their old selves.
He added: “There’s been a big turnover of players at the club, but I think Saturday showed what we are all about.”
