Sean Welsh feels Caley Thistle’s lengthy catch up schedule provides them with added pressure they must overcome in the weeks ahead.
Inverness will face Queen of the South tonight in what will be their first home game of 2021, having only played midweek matches away to Morton and Arbroath since the turn of the year.
Caley Jags have played fewer games than any other side in the Championship, with tonight’s game kicking off a busy schedule which will see John Robertson’s men play four matches in the next nine days.
The succession of recent postponements has caused Inverness to drop to second bottom in the table, and skipper Welsh says they need to produce a quick burst of form to ignite their play-off hopes.
Welsh said: “I wouldn’t say there are benefits because it’s difficult when you have so many games called off.
“The table is false for us just now because we’ve got so many games in hand, but the games are going to come thick and fast. There’s a lot of pressure to get the points and get back up the table.
“I would say it’s more of a hindrance but it’s one we’ve got to be more than ready for given the position we are in.
“We need to put a good run together. There’s a little more pressure on the games we’ve got because they’re in a short space of time, and there’s pressure to get the points to get back up the table.
“We want to start the run with a good result to give us a bit of confidence to hopefully put a good run of results together. You can then quickly shoot back up the table.
“It’s the same all season really but any team that can put three or four wins together, you see it makes a massive difference. They end up in the good part of the table.”
Former Hibernian and Partick Thistle midfielder Welsh says the recent weather conditions have been the worst he has encountered during his playing career, with the Highlanders having largely trained indoors.
Welsh insists the squad have made their best efforts to keep their spirits up despite the lack of game time.
He added: “I’ve never seen so many games called off. It’s probably the worst winter I have ever seen. I have never seen snow like it, and it has been freezing for months now. I have never seen anything like it.
“You’ve just got to keep yourself upbeat and keep professional really. We are still training every day.
“It’s frustrating when games get called off, but there’s nothing that can be done about it with the weather we have had.
“We just have to keep going in training and once a game eventually comes be ready for it.
“The boys are desperate to get a game and we are looking forward to the run ahead.”
Tonight’s opponents jumped a point above Inverness by claiming a 1-1 draw against leaders Hearts on Friday, and were only denied the victory by a late Jambos penalty.
Welsh expects to face an upbeat Doonhamers side, however he is hopeful Caley Thistle can return to winning ways against Allan Johnston’s men.
He added: “We know what Queen of the South are like, we have played them enough times. It was a great result for them on Friday, but I think they will be disappointed they didn’t pick up the three points.
“They will come up here full of confidence, but we are fully confident in the ability in our own squad.
“It will be a difficult game, but one we will be more than ready for.”
