Caley Thistle manager John Robertson has praised the impact of summer signing Scott Allardice who he has described as the best passer at the club.
Midfielder Allardice joined Inverness after a year-long spell in Ireland, where he played for Bohemians and Waterford, having previously come through the youth ranks with Dundee United.
The 22-year-old struggled to break into United’s first time during his time at Tannadice, making just 19 appearances and spending time on loan with East Fife and Dumbarton.
Although Robertson expected it would take Allardice some time to settle in, he feels he has stepped up impressively at a time when more experienced team-mates have been injured.
Robertson said: “We felt at the time he was something we didn’t quite have.
“If you look at his range of passing, he’s probably the best at the club in midfield terms. He can go short, but his long range passing is exceptional.
“We feel up here with the big pitch, we didn’t have someone capable of doing that from the midfield. That’s why we brought him in.
“If somebody had said to me at the start of the season Scott and Roddy MacGregor were going to be our two main midfield players I would have been slightly bemused.
“Scott was a project for us, who we felt would take time to settle into the team and work his way in.
“We felt he would have to get past Sean Welsh, David Carson and James Vincent. Injuries have given him his opportunity, and he has come in and taken it.
“That’s what we say to every player. If you are starting in the team, show why you should start in the team, and if you are coming on don’t just cruise through games, make an impact.
“If you are not in the squad, which we haven’t had the luxury of this season, work harder in training to get there.”
Robertson feels Allardice has been the latest success story from his wide-ranging scouting radar, adding: “In the scouting network I have in place, I have guys in the London area, north-east, the north-west, one in the Yorkshire area, and one from my time in Ireland.
“When Scott was at Bohemians he was asking why he had gone over there, because he looked a very good player.
“He got a move to Waterford and we kept an eye on that, and when the pandemic started Scott came back.
“We made an approach to him to get him up because we felt Scott could do well.
“Nobody had heard of David Carson, playing in the English ninth-tier at Morpeth, but we all saw how well he did for us last year.
“Robbie Deas and Wallace Duffy are excellent young players. We have done that over the piece.”
Allardice has also proven a goalscoring threat, having netted in Inverness’ last two home league games to help the Highlanders record victories over Arbroath and Raith Rovers.
Although Allardice had established himself as a deep-lying midfield player earlier in his career, Robertson says the Dundee-born player will be given the licence to contribute to Caley Jags’ attacking play.
Robertson added: “Scott hadn’t scored a league goal before he came here. He was always told by his managers to sit and direct play, but that’s not the case for us. We want our midfield players to get forward, if Roddy is sitting then Scott gets forward, and if Scott is sitting Roddy can get forward.
“He got two goals in five games and suddenly he realised he can score.”
