Caley Thistle manager John Robertson says he will look back on the opening round of Championship fixtures with frustration even if Inverness end it with a win against Morton on Saturday.
Inverness have taken 11 points from their first eight games which has left them sixth in the table, albeit just a point adrift of the promotion play-off places.
Robertson has been particularly irked by Caley Jags’ last two matches, with the Highlanders relinquishing leading positions to draw 2-2 with Dundee before losing 2-1 to Alloa Athletic on Saturday.
Although Robertson hopes to end the opening round of matches on a high against Ton at Cappielow this weekend, he feels there have been missed opportunities to push higher up the table.
Robertson said: “I’m hugely disappointed with our points total from the last two games.
“It’s all ifs, buts and maybes, but when I look back at our performances we probably didn’t do enough to get something out of the Dunfermline and Hearts games away from home.
“We should have beaten Ayr United and Dundee at home with the amount of chances we created, and we should have beaten Alloa on Saturday.
“If we had done that we would be sitting level on 18 points with Hearts and I would have been delighted with that as a first round total.
“We have to go to Morton and win – 14 points would be a reasonable amount.
“I’m not happy with that amount to be brutally honest, our displays have probably deserved better but it has been our own undoing of losing soft goals that has been the catalyst of that, as well as not taking chances at the other end.”
Robertson is eager to make greater gains on the top end of the table during the second round of fixtures, which he has pinpointed as a crucial stage of the reduced 27-game campaign.
Robertson added: “We need to pick up. The second nine is the moving section, and we will know after that exactly what we are playing for.
“We want to be playing for the promotion spots, it’s as simple and straightforward as that.
“Had we taken the points we should and could have done, right now we would have been right in the mix fighting for the top spot.
“Other clubs will say the same, that they have dropped silly points, but that’s where we are.
“I’m pretty sure that come the end of January everybody will know exactly what they’ve got to play for.
“We have got five home games in the next round of matches, and we have got to use that to our advantage.”
Robertson is demanding a response from his players after insisting they fell below their previous standards in letting the lead slip against Alloa.
He added: “In this league, when you’re on form, you’ve got to take points.
“That’s what was really annoying last weekend, I was like a bear with a sore head for 48 hours.
“It was a game that we were in complete control of, and we threw away three points, so that just proves everything you need to know about this league.
“At one stage we were sitting second in the league, and we were sixth at the end of it.
“I wasn’t too pleased, it was a miserable weekend.
“The players were told that yes, they’re a young side, but they can’t switch off.
“We didn’t work as hard as we’ve been working in previous games, we didn’t move the ball as well, we didn’t get behind as we have been in previous games.
“It was a learning process. I look at all the matches so far and we should have had a far higher points total and be sitting comfortably in second place, but we’re not.
“While we heap praise on the players for their performances in recent weeks, last Saturday fell below the standards that were required.”
